While some of us tackle dry/vegan January or down the gym (and we salute you), Birmingham Repertory Theatre is choosing the beginning of the year to ponder a simpler question related to our physical forms; Why are we, as a society, not talking more about death? Bit morbid for the midwinter? The Death Show is actually a darkly rich comedy that fuses contemplation with discovery. Drawn together by their shared fear of death, Lucy Nicholls and Antonia Beck invite you to shine an unflinchingly bright and curious eye on the shadow cast by ‘thanatophobia’ (fear of death), in order to dispel the darkness and illuminate a whole new perspective. Be ready to be walked through extensive testimonies from palliative nurses, hospice patients and GPs, as well as their own experiences training with Celebrants and shadowing Undertakers. You might just find that celebrating your own mortality, sticking two fingers up at the grim reaper and talking about death, is actually more life-affirming than the gym.

Fri 26 & Sat 27 Feb at The Rep, Centenary Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ £10 Fri: 8pm, Sat: 2.30pm & 8pm. www.birmingham-rep.co.uk