#Macbeth curse how to

In the interview below, he explains how theater companies that were struggling financially would stage Macbeth, a crowd favorite, to guarantee ticket sales. According to legend, a coven of witches decided to punish him for using their magic by cursing his play.įor skeptics, Christopher Eccleston-who played Macbeth in a Royal Shakespeare Company production in 2018-offers a slightly more believable theory about the origin of the curse.

But many believe these accidents are the result of a curse actual witches cast on the play when Shakespeare first debuted it.Īs the Royal Shakespeare Company explains, Shakespeare really did his research when creating the three witches in Macbeth: “Fillet of a fenny snake,” “eye of newt and toe of frog,” and other lines from the “Song of the Witches” were supposedly taken from “real” witches’ spells from the time. Since Macbeth has been around for so long and performed so often, it’s not exactly surprising its history contains some tragic moments. Theres also some fun historical lore that feeds into this 'cursed' reputation. Twenty-two people died, and more than 100 others were injured. Macbeth is a masterpiece of a play, and has such evil characters (and witchcraft), so it makes sense to call it cursed. Wikipedia The summary of the synopsis in a nutshell. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 16. Harold Norman died from stab wounds sustained during a fight scene while playing Macbeth in 1947, and there have been several high-profile audience riots at various performances, too-the worst was at New York’s Astor Place Opera House in 1849, when fans of British actor William Charles Macready clashed with those of American actor Edwin Forrest. The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. Macbeth has continued to cause calamity after calamity throughout its four centuries of existence. In a later one, an actor stabbed King Duncan with an actual dagger rather than a prop knife, killing him on stage. William Shakespeares play Macbeth is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre (the euphemism 'The Scottish Play' is used instead). In the very first show, the actor portraying Lady Macbeth unexpectedly died, and Shakespeare himself had to take over the role. Instead, actors commonly refer to it as “the Bard’s play” or “the Scottish play.”Īccording to, the curse of Macbeth originated after a string of freak accidents occurred during early performances of Shakespeare’s 1606 play. This entry was posted in Customs, Folk Beliefs, Folk speech, general, Gestures, Kinesthetic, Magic on by Dan D'Adamo.If you see someone burst from the doors of a theater, spin around three times, spit over their left shoulder, and shout out a Shakespearean phrase or curse word, it’s likely they just uttered “Macbeth” inside the building and are trying to keep a very famous curse at bay.Īs the story goes, saying “Macbeth” in a theater when you’re not rehearsing or performing the play can cause disaster to befall the production. Perhaps the saying a curse word part of this tradition has something to do with a transference of the curse or bad luck. This informant was positive there was a right and wrong way to do this, whereas the other informant (who had folklore experience) believed there were a variety of ways that this tradition could be performed.

#Macbeth curse how to

Reflection: I asked another theater student with a different background about how to undo the same curse, and she had a slightly different answer.

(He was adamant that this is the only right way) The Macbeth Curse Macbeth, fully titled The Tragedie of Macbeth, is a play written by William Shakespeare and performed for the first time in the early 1600s, although the exact year is. Informant: Go outside, spin around three times, over your left shoulder, spit over your left shoulder, say a curse word, knock and be let back in. It was an era of witch hunts which were encouraged by the King who was ardently against any form of witchcraft, sorcery, and the occult. Macbeth was written around 1606 by William Shakespeare in an effort to impress the reigning monarch of the time, King James I of England. Me: What do you do to undo the curse if you say “Macbeth” in a theater? Origins of the Curse of ‘Macbeth’ James I of England. He is also my roommate.Ĭontext: I asked him about this practice while he was cleaning the room. Background: the informant is a college student and theater major.