Entertainment company collapses owing $7.5m
Australian workers were left jobless with just eight days notice as taxpayers were forced to pick up the tab for unpaid annual leave and other entitlements.
An entertainment company that toured theatre shows across Australia including Elvis: The Musical Revolution and Cruel Intentions collapsed owing $7.5 million – with one artist now lifting the lid on how unpaid entitlements “burned” the cast and “messed” with their lives.
The Australian producer has also been criticised for already launching a new company that is back staging performances despite the epic collapse.
The company, called David Venn Enterprises, went under in August last year leaving performers with unpaid superannuation of almost $440,000, a liquidator’s report revealed.
One artist, who asked that their name be withheld, told news.com.au that there were about 26 performers and 15 crew in the Elvis production who were left out of pocket — owed between $15,000 and $30,000 each.
The cast and crew also dealt with an abrupt end to the season – essentially left jobless with just eight days notice.
News.com.au has learnt a government scheme has forked out $744,000 to former employees for unpaid entitlements after the company’s failure, although this figure does not cover superannuation.
There were also 77 trade creditors owed approximately $4 million including hotels, media and event companies and even Meta, while the company may have also traded while insolvent for over a year prior to its collapse, the investigations of liquidator Mitchell Ball from insolvency firm Mackay Goodwin found.
Yet just $304,000 out of the millions owed will be paid back.
The collapsed company was owned by Australian producer David Venn.
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The cast and crew were left “incredulous” when they discovered the extent of the company’s debt, the artist added.
“He didn’t pay for accommodation and cast could have been kicked out on the street in Perth or Adelaide,” they told news.com.au.
“But it has really messed a lot of people’s lives up. People turned down other work with equal wages and long tours – people are still really angry.
“I’m not sure what I would do if I saw him on the street – the betrayal of it is very difficult. You feel like a fool being taken on this ride and how dare he continue on now without paying our super. I hope he feels some sense of shame.”
The actor said at one point last year some performers “wanted to hold curtains” and not go on stage over the super issue.
“There were things like we were on the Gold Coast and he was still putting $5000 on the bar. It was like I don’t want a free drink from you mate, I want to be able to live (in the future),” they claimed. Mr Venn said the bar tab claim was “not accurate”.
The Australian producer added at no point would he have allowed cast or crew to be left without accommodation or be “placed in a vulnerable position”.
He added to date, no former employee has ever contacted him directly to discuss the outstanding superannuation but he would “be open and honest with them”.
“I understand the frustration and concern, and I remain committed to doing the right thing as circumstances allow,” he said.
“I recognise the impact this has had on those affected and I deeply regret the situation and
the impact it has had on our valued team members.”
Do you have a story? Contact sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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Elvis toured around Australia with eight shows a week starting from June 2023 until the first week of July 2024. The cast performed more than 250 shows.
“When it comes to shows like this, particularly independent theatre, a lot of the pressure comes back to the performers,” the artist said.
“Like come on guys we just have to get on stage, the show must go on and we are often the most vulnerable people when it comes to getting paid, having your rights met and there is not an abundance of work out there.
“I think it’s important that audiences know what happens behind their entertainment … and where their money is going to or not going to.”
In June last year, Mr Venn met with the Elvis team on the Gold Coast to tell them smaller audience sizes were having a significant impact on finances and weekly cashflow. He said he was looking at addressing the unpaid super.
Mr Venn also revealed that Elvis’ return to Sydney had sent finances backwards with the show costing $450,000 a week to operate.
Then eight days before technical rehearsals for the Melbourne season last year performers received an email from Mr Venn. They learned the “challenging decision” had been made to cancel the season due to unviable ticket sales and production costs.
“We had already hired three new people who gave up other work and had rehearsed and they didn’t end up with another job,” the artist claimed.
Performers were told the New Zealand season was still on sale but that was also canned later on that month, with Mr Venn acknowledging it was an “abrupt end” to Elvis. But performers were still left out of pocket.
“We basically finished up and 40 people were just out of a job, and there was not even annual leave to keep you going for a couple of weeks,” the artist claimed.
A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said it had received 42 claims for Fair Entitlements Guarantee assistance from former employees of David Venn Enterprises, with around $744,000 paid out.
“As of 15 June 2025, the department has finalised 40 of these claims and is in the process of finalising the remaining two claims,” they added.
On average, initial payments were made to former employees within 20 weeks, they added.
Mr Venn said with the Elvis season, despite best efforts and significant marketing investment,
ticket sales for performances did not meet expectations.
“Demand simply didn’t materialise at the level needed to cover costs,” he said.
“Continuing under those conditions would have been financially irresponsible. As difficult as
it was, cancelling the remaining tour was the only viable option to prevent further losses
and risk to all involved – this was despite the demand we responded to when committing to
the dates.”
Mr Venn said he regretted effects the cancellations had on cast and crew.
“This decision was not made lightly and we considered every possible solution before needing to do so,” he said.
“When it became clear that the sales numbers would not support the costs of delivery, we made the difficult decision to cancel, with as much notice as possible under the circumstances.”
Meanwhile, a new company called DV Live Pty Ltd was incorporated by Mr Venn in February. He was the secretary and director of DV Live until March 7, which has already launched a number of shows this year.
His mother is now listed as secretary and director of DV Live, ASIC records show, while Mr Venn remains the only shareholder of the company.
The new company’s shows include one based on the blockbuster TV series Game of Thrones, which kicked off in Melbourne at the Alex Theatre.
The production, Thrones! The Musical Parody, is described as a show that “crams eight seasons of the blockbuster TV show into a fun-filled 90 minutes”.
“Set to a side-splitting original score, armed with razor-sharp wit, warped rhymes and twisted storylines, come celebrate the nudity, violence and vulgarity that we’ve come to know and love,” the website reads.
The show launched on May 30 and ran until June 21 with tickets selling for between $59 and $109.
DV Live is also behind the production of Footloose: The Musical, which is playing at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre until August with tickets priced up to $129.
Another project listed on its website is a musical parody based on the famous Christmas movie Love Actually.
Mr Venn said DV Live is a new opportunity that was started to contribute to an entertainment industry he is passionate about.
“DV Live was built with the support of industry partners, believing in the work we were
achieving before the liquidation. It is only through these relationships that we have been
able to get off the ground again,” he said.
“My mother was appointed as director. We are both actively working on the business daily
and I continue in the role of lead producer as an employee.”
He added DV Live was created to provide future employment opportunities for artists and to repair the damage caused by the collapse of David Venn Enterprises.
“Rather than walk away, I chose to take responsibility, rebuild, and create a path forward that could, over time, contribute to doing the right thing,” he said.
Meanwhile Mr Ball’s report, which was filed with ASIC, also revealed that David Venn Enterprises “may have traded whilst insolvent since at least 30 June 2023” and there was the potential to pursue a claim for approximately $3.5 million.
However, his investigations were ongoing and included whether there were commercial merits of pursuing such action, Mr Ball noted.
He said his investigations found poor economic conditions, the inability to pay statutory debts when they fell due, trading losses, inadequate cash flow or high cash use and the inability to service loans obtained were all factors contributing to the company’s failure.
The report also identified 17 transactions in the books and records of the company “that may be considered unreasonable director-related transactions”, but investigations were continuing.
Mr Venn said the liquidator’s report raised matters that he takes seriously and responded to appropriately at the time.
“It’s important to note that the report does not fully reflect the broader financial context at the time, including significant advance ticket sales and pending investment commitments that were expected to support the business and its obligations,” he said.
“I cannot appropriately answer questions on specific transactions or details in this context.”
Mr Venn blamed his company’s failure on struggling ticket sales amid high competition, cost of living pressures causing consumers to have less discretionary income, and licensing and creative issues with entertainment product leading to reduced sales.
Documents reveal just $304,000 will be paid back towards the company’s debt after creditor’s voted to accept a personal insolvency agreement from Mr Venn.
The producer added with David Venn Enterprises all superannuation amounts were recorded on employee pay slips in accordance with legal requirements but “due to a significant and unforeseen drop in ticket sales part way through the tour” – the company experienced severe cash flow challenges.
“We were actively pursuing strategies to improve revenue and cover our obligations,
including superannuation, based on strong forward sales in upcoming cities. Unfortunately,
despite these efforts, the financial position did not recover in time, and the business was
placed into voluntary liquidation,” he said.
Mr Venn said the company also attempted to settle as many outstanding supplier invoices as possible.
“However, due to limited remaining funds, we were unable to meet all accrued entitlements, including annual leave and superannuation,” he added.
“At every stage, our focus was on keeping our cast and crew employed for as long as possible
and avoided several situations that would have meant cutting jobs sooner and prematurely
ending the production that was still delivering strong audience experiences in several cities.
“We chose to keep people working and hoped our efforts would help turn the situation
around.”
Artists are typically contracted on a “run of play” basis, meaning their engagement continues until the show closes, which can be extended – or shortened — based on market conditions, he added.
“This is standard practice and understood across the industry, but that doesn’t lessen the disruption when plans change,” he noted.
He acknowledged there is a significant amount owed, and while he cannot promise
immediate repayment of the full figure, he said it is “absolutely his intention to pay back what he can” when DV Live is financially able to do so.
There are broader signs Australia’s entertainment industry is struggling.
Another Aussie producer who had hit shows at the Sydney Opera House and major festivals also faced financial troubles when running his entertainment company.
He has been slammed by performers who haven’t been paid, leaving them thousands of dollars out of pocket, although the producer claims he is working to pay them back.
sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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