"First and foremost it isn’t Christian theatre. It is not a show to preach at people. It’s not saying we are worthy and you are not.”

Israel Oyelumade is acutely aware of the scepticism the public hold toward artistic forays made by the Church. He is keen to stress that Love Beyond, the musical for which he is artistic director, is a great show on its own.

“We share a big rehearsal space. When the cast are singing, other companies are leaving their rehearsals and coming to listen. That doesn’t happen – I’ve been at The National, I’ve been to Hollywood. That does not happen.”

A passionate Christian and proud Brighton resident, Oyelumade is clearly very excited about what he and his team have put together. Speaking from the offices of Love Beyond’s rehearsal space in London, the former Royal Shakespeare Company actor turned director explains the premise of the musical.

“Starting pre-Genesis and going right through the Christian narrative of God’s love, we end at the dawning of a new earth, a new heaven and the wedding we in the Christian faith understand to be the returning of Jesus Christ.”

Oyelumade says it is the story of God’s love through the ages.

“We take a gentle walk through some of the key moments in the narrative of God’s heartbeat through humanity, and we take some of the key moments of Jesus’s journey into humanity.

“My job is to make it as accessible and as dramatic as possible without conflicting the two interests.”

Oyelumade trained at RADA in the mid-1990s and with his experience has brought a level of professionalism to the production. The show features a 24-strong ensemble cast of seasoned West End performers.

Tabitha Webb, who performs and is part of the show’s creative team, has played the lead in Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Simon Shorten, who takes on the role of Jesus, played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre. The show also stars J Marie Cooper, the fiery redhead who took shots at Will.I.Am following her controversial exit from The Voice in 2012.

“We want to dispel this whole lie that Christian art is like amateur dramatics. It’s not. Ask David and Carrie Grant. Ask David Suchet.

“We’re not weird, we’re normal people who have a very passionate faith in Jesus Christ.”

“People get blown away when they listen to what we’re doing and go to our website and see our branding. They say, ‘It’s like a West End show.’ Well, yes, we wanted it to be a West End standard because we wanted it to be the best.”

This is no idle ambition for Oyelumade. Love Beyond has a five-year plan. A national tour is planned, which culminates with a performance at the Royal Albert Hall. After that, the idea is take the production overseas.

However, before that is Sunday’s debut in Brighton. Oyelumade explains that it’s a place he’s in love with, calling it one of the best cities in the world.

He’s also unconcerned by Brighton’s reputation as the UK’s most Godless city.

“It’s inaccurate that Brighton is the city with the least faith. There are other places that I know of which have far less. We are secular minded, yes. That I can understand.

“However, I know for a fact that in the past seven to ten years more than 15 churches have been bought [in the city] – that for me is a sign that faith is growing.”

Oyelumade doesn’t want to separate the show and a desire to spread the word of Christian faith.

However, for him, it’s more than about converting the audience, it’s about creating a show that people will be talking about for years to come.