Talk:The Scottish play

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[edit] Rituals

In effort to get a sense of what the general concensus on The Scottish Play superstition is, perhaps some people could post here what their experiences with it have been? From my foray into high school theater, our conception was that Macbeth should not be said inside a theater on the night in which a show other than Macbeth is being performed. The related ritual was to turn three times, spit over one's left shoulder, and recite "Angels and ministers of grace defend us" — referred to as the "spin and spit" procedure. ~ Booyabazooka 18:34, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, this is all original research, of course, but any excuse to share stories!

In most of the professional theatres where I've worked, there's a strong taboo against saying 'Macbeth' anywhere in the theatre itself, the lobby, or backstage areas at any time, even if there's no show running, and usually against saying it in other areas of the building (ie, administrative offices). It's generally taken quite seriously, though less because everyone believes in the curse than because everyone respects that some people do.

The ritual varies wildly, and even though it's taken seriously in that it must be performed properly, there's usually an element of fun in deciding the particulars and the subsequent taunting of the offender, especially if they're a relative newcomer to theatre. It's rather like hazing. The ritual is often made up on the spot combining this or that favorite element from those present. When I've been involved in productions and someone invoked the curse backstage, someone (generally either a senior member of the company or the most superstitious person on hand) would take the lead in instructing the offender in what to do, with onlookers making suggestions. "Hop on one leg!" "We should blindfold him first!"

I've heard 'fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you' more often than 'angels and ministers of grace defend us': I'm told the former is often used because Merchant of Venice is a 'lucky' play, but no one has been able to satisfactorily explain to me what's lucky about it. ;) My personal favorite is any version where the 'penitent' is required to actually leave the building to perform the ward and then request re-admittance.

I've never worked on the play, but I've also heard that you shouldn't say 'Macbeth' even if you're in the middle of a production, unless you're rehearsing or performing and it's in your lines. At any rate, I think the article gives a pretty good feel for the ritual and the history behind the curse, although I'm inclined to think that the article Macbeth ritual should either contain a clearer link here, or should perhaps be relocated to Macbeth ritual (Blackadder) or something similar and Macbeth ritual redirected here. -- Vary | Talk 20:24, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I'd appreciate information on whether it's just meant to taboo for cast and crew to say 'Macbeth', or if an audience member or random theatre visitor will also incur the curse. -dmmaus 04:11, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I believe Corner Gas parodies this, as when the name of Wullerton, the rival town, is mentioned, everyone spits over their left shoulder. It may not be a specific reference, however. --Agent_Koopa 14:17, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

From what I've heard, no one can say "MacBeth" while in the theater--including the audience (personally, I don't believe in superstitions, which is why I think it a bit odd that some drama people believe that an audience member could just walk into a theater, say "MacBeth", and ruin the entire production). Regardless, I made the unfortunate mistake of saying it yesterday at a production of Metamorphoses I was working at, and the director immediately had me leave the theater, knock on the door, come in and spin around three times, then curse--apparently in some hope that the "curse" would be warded off. Needless to say, the production did NOT go as planned thereafter: the LSG (low-smoke generator) failed during the majority of the play, someone went onstage without their requisite mask, someone else lost an important earing, and one of the actresses proceded to cry exhaustively during the first act, intermission, and actually while on stage (although it was during a scene where her character was to cry as well). Long story short, I took a lot of heat for my aforementioned statement of said word, but, not being a theater person and thinking rationally, I think that the "myth" or "curse" of MacBeth is nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy: my saying it only led the actors and actresses to BELIEVE that something would go wrong, and, in turn, they were so preoccupied with worrying about a SUPPOSED failure that they themselves caused the unfortunate events to occur. What do you think? (side note: the first time the director had someone say MacBeth in one of her plays [a few years ago], apparently a sandbag backstage fell and broke someone's shoulder--just FYI; I still think it's more of a coincidence than anything else) --LoganK 14:45, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Just the play?

I'd heard a version that it's only the name of the *play* that's taboo, that the character is fine. So that you can happily say <luvvie>"ah, yes, it's like that time we did The Scottish Play. The chap playing Macbeth was a rum old sort..."</luvvie>.

(For the record, we did it at university and broke pretty much every theatrical superstition in the book. King Duncan cracked his head on a doorframe in the pre-dress and had to go and sit down for a bit, but everything else went fine and it was a stupidly low doorframe anyway :D) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brickie (talk • contribs) 15:50, 15 December 2006 (UTC).