Performed in French, with English surtitles, Mohamed El Khatib’s A Beautiful Ending might be described as theatrical (auto)biography, or as journalistic experimentation, or an approximation thereof . . . I hesitate to throw an easy tagline at this knotty, sometimes variable account of a mother’s death. I can say, in spite of a few misgivings, that I am glad that it is on stage here in Birmingham . . .

The Young Vic has made a name for itself in recent years for its bold interpretations and inventive staging – and this performance of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is nothing less than you would expect of a Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin directed production. It aims to take Macbeth in a direction it has never been seen before, posing the idea that Duncan is a tyrant and that Macbeth’s deeds are a coup and for the good of Scotland – more a moral act than one of ambition on Macbeth’s part . . .