It was never going to be a match made in heaven.

When queer arts promoter Heaps Gay Events announced it had leased the long-deconsecrated St John’s Church at 420 Kent St in Sydney’s CBD and renamed it Unholy Playhouse (“a sanctuary for divine mischief”), the response in some quarters of the community was less than welcoming.

“Why are YOUR tax dollars funding the mockery of Christianity?” wrote Lyle Shelton, National Director of the Family First Party, in a social media post. “It is completely inappropriate for taxpayers to be forced to subsidise a venue whose entire brand is built around mocking Christianity and, in particular, the Catholic faith … The Unholy Playhouse proudly acknowledges on its website that it is ‘supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW’. Taxpayers deserve to know why their money is being used to bankroll material that many Christians find deeply offensive.”

Heaps Gay’s Kat Dopper, reacting quickly to a wave of negativity, announced a rebrand within 48 hours of the venue’s opening night. It would now be known as Divine Playhouse, Dopper explained in a statement.

“While the project has received an overwhelmingly positive response, there has been a small number of people in the community who...