Controversial play i Am Mark to hit the Crescent Theatre.

An explosive new production casting Jesus as a rebel leader, and featuring a terrorist strapping a bomb to himself, is set to challenge traditional church goers when it plays Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre on 17th October.

Edgy theatre company Applecart claims the controversial modern day makeover of St Mark’s Gospel: i am Mar” will rid the story of “its stuffy religious baggage.” Instead they plan to show the Son of God as a revolutionary leader in the dramatic production that features a bomb-laden man counting down the seconds until he blows himself up.

Artistic director Peter Moreton said: “We’re treating the story with huge respect but it has often been marginalised by the church. Jesus is subversive and political, which doesn’t sit well with the dull and often narrow world of organized religion.”

He added that their production rid the tale of 2000 years of baggage using fresh and sometimes strong language.

Storyteller Phil Summers said: “For us a theatre in the heart of the city is a far better setting for a story of social unrest and revolution than an old echoing cathedral.” Using a combination of theatre, film, music and comedy they will tell the entire of Mark’s Gospel for one night only at the Crescent Theatre.

The production was first performed at the Leicester Theatre in the West End and is currently touring throughout the UK .