Why are you never supposed to say Macbeth during a theater rehearsal?

Question

I almost got creamed by a supersticious crew member....

Answer 1

Theater superstition. This goes way back in theater history. Things start going wrong when you say the play's name. Don't mess with it :)

Answer 2

They say that the play is bad luck or cursed. Bad things happen during the running of the play.  I suppose it is because the scene where the witches are brewing up a spell over the cauldron  "... fire burn and cauldron bubble", etc., it is supposed to be a real "witch's brew".

Answer 3

It's said to be bad luck...

Answer 4

As a frequent actor, I can tell you that saying "Macbeth" is probably the most-believed superstition in theater, along with saying, "Break a leg." I'll also tell you a true story that will stop you from doing it. I was in a local musical and one of my friends, a first timer, happened to also be in it. Well, somehow the word "Macbeth" arose in a conversation and I said, "Hey! Don't you know it's bad luck to say that in a theater?" But he didn't believe me and to prove his point, he said "Macbeth" over and over again for at least a full minute. I told him he would regret it, but was kind of interested to see if something bad would actually happen. Well, the next day, which happened to be closing night, he had a little accident. In the dressing room, he tripped and fell, breaking his two top front teeth. He couldn't do the show and missed our cast party. You have been warned!!

By the way, the superstition goes back to Shakespeare's time. Basically, Macbeth was really poking fun at the King of that time. And the king didn't like the way it portrayed him. So it was said to be bad luck to say the word because you might anger the king.

Answer 5

lol well its supposed to bring bad luck-there's a whole bunch of rumors about the play being haunted-people who've done the play at least one crew member died!! For example there's a sword fight and they had stoppers on the point so that way no one would get hurt, but the stopper came off and when the guy "stabbed" the other guy, the guy died. There's two rumors: the play was haunted, and somebody muttered the word Macbeth behind the curtains. Just a for warning never say it if ur part of the crew or the crowd......

Answer 6

The story I'd heard about it being cursed was that back in the days of Shakespeare... well, after Macbeth was written, troupes would only perform Macbeth if they were really desperate for money, since it's shorter than Shakespeare's other plays and doesn't require a big budget. So it seems to be that it's bad luck, that it'll cause your group to go bankrupt or what not.

Personal experiences with this superstition... I believe in it.

During our production of Lend Me A Tenor, our producer said Macbeth before the dress rehearsal. A door fell off the set.

During CATS, a cast member said it before cue-to-cue... the disco ball hanging in the very top of the theatre FELL and SMASHED to pieces! Later, one of our ASMs said it TWICE in one night... Our sound tech was rushed to hospital. Later, a cast member was hospitalized mid-show.

Answer 7

wow I didnt know it was

now that episode of Jimmy Neutron makes sense lol

<3

Answer 8

haha i have never heard that one