Popular Melbourne CBD cabaret venue The Butterfly Club shut its doors this Sunday, with all future shows cancelled.
The Butterfly Club closed indefinitely in Melbourne on Sunday following sudden operational complications.
The Melbourne venue announced the shock closure to booked artists via email last Friday afternoon (25 July) and ArtsHub reported the sudden news.
Programming Coordinator emails sent to affected artists revealed the immediate nature of the closure.
The Butterfly Club – Melbourne
- Where: Carson Place, Melbourne CBD
- Opened: 1999 (relocated to CBD in February 2013)
- Closure date: Sunday 27 July
- Official announcement: None posted on social media or via media release at time of reporting
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‘Due to sudden and unforeseen operational complications, The Butterfly Club will be closed from Sunday 27 July. Unfortunately, this means that we will no longer be able to stage your show. If you have paid any deposits to us for venue hire, these will be refunded in full, in the coming week,’ the email read.
‘We deeply regret that we are no longer able to stage your wonderful work, and apologise for any understandable inconvenience this may cause,’
‘It is our understanding that this closure will be indefinite so it will not be possible to postpone.’
Club history
The intimate CBD space has served as a crucial hub for cabaret performers and independent theatre makers since opening in 1999.
The Butterfly Club hosts 1200 performances of 200 productions every year in Melbourne, according to its website. Many of these productions are new works.
The venue’s sudden closure leaves many cabaret artists and theatremakers without a performance space. Booked performers received notification just days before the closure took effect.
The Butterfly Club originally opened in South Melbourne before relocating to Carson Place in February 2013. The venue has changed hands three times since its 1999 opening.
The intimate venue features two performance spaces. The upstairs proscenium arch theatre seats 76 people while the smaller downstairs space accommodates 48. Both spaces experience high demand during festivals such as Midsumma and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
The venue houses an impressive collection of kitsch alongside its performance programming. The Butterfly Club has established itself as an important venue for Melbourne’s cabaret scene. Independent theatre productions regularly filled the intimate spaces throughout the year.
No official statement has appeared on The Butterfly Club social media channels.
The venue’s programming coordinator confirmed that operational complications forced the immediate closure decision. Details about the specific nature of these complications remain unclear.
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