Marrickville’s newest live music venue harbors a Greek past in its walls and cabinet displays.
Yes, the Sydney suburb is known for its Greek Australian population, but The Great Club’s owners are not of Hellenic heritage.
They are however committed to honouring the building’s past, which served as the headquarters for the Pan-Macedonian Association of NSW until 2018.
In their interview for The Guardian, director Alison Avron and assistant director Brooke Olsen explain this was in fact one of the reasons their proposal was chosen over other applicants by real estate agent Aris Giotas.
“I’m so grateful to him for believing in us,” Ms Avron says.
“He told us there’s two types of Greek communities in Marrickville, those who stick with the Greeks and those who want to assimilate with all kinds of cultures. The intention of the pan Macedonian Greek community was always to combine Australian and Greek culture. They needed something to lift the club [from the traditional thing] but still honour its history.”
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The only exception? Its male-dominated past.
The Pan-Macedonian Association bought the building in 1984 to host its ‘Alexander the Great Club’. But since first established in 1955, it was run as a gathering place for “gentlemen from the Greek community”.
Two “lady tycoons” have now taken over the “ex-Gentleman’s Club”, transforming it into Sydney’s newest music venue.
Greek within “a big range of things”
As The Guardian reports, the building’s five-year lease agreement requires the venue to assume the role of “caretaker of the old club’s artefacts.”
These range from posters of Greek Gods and Alexander the Great prints and marble busts, to soccer memorabilia, dancing costumes and even chandeliers.
The condition was met with enthusiasm by the new club owners.
“We were like ‘yes please!It became apparent quite fast this wasn’t just Brooke and I combining our histories, there’s something further at play that we have a responsibility to honour, ” Ms Avron comments.
Greek music, for example, is envisaged as an offering but among “a big range of things”.
Walking the talk, the directorial duo will be hosting a gig with music from Thrace and Macedonia this month, as part of the Greek Fringe.
But they stand firm on their plans for the venue to cater to a broad audience as a live music hub.
“We want it to be a well-known, well-respected, well-loved Sydney venue that is impossible to do without,” Ms Olsen says.
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