Guess How Much I Love You? is the most emotionally gruelling play I have ever seen – even though its storyline doesn’t touch my own experience.

So-called “trigger warnings” about theatrical content annoy many playwrights and performers – seeing surprise as a vital part of their craft – but please those, in our #BeKind times, who believe no one should unknowingly encounter upsetting material. My own response is: imagine the great Greek tragedian Euripides scowling at a warning on the amphitheatre wall that Medea kills her children. He wanted viewers to be horrified. An interesting test case is Luke Norris’ new play, Guess How Much I Love You?, which, the Royal Court website warns, “contains moments of full blackout … discussion and depictions of pregnancy complications …”.

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