If you know any theater kids, you probably know how superstitious they are. Between knocking on wood, avoiding whistling near the theater, or not saying certain words, thespians are known for their suspicion of seemingly everything. However, there’s one word that is almost universally forbidden. That word would be none other than Macbeth, The title and main character of Shakespeare’s tragic play that follows Scottish nobles as sudden murders make way for power changes.
Our theatre department will host public performances of this year’s One Act Play adaptation of Macbeth (safely titled “The Scottish Tragedy”), on April 4-6 in the auditorium. Show times are 7 pm each night. Tickets are $5 at the door and the house opens at 6:30 pm.
“Some witches snuck into the theater and weren’t very happy with what they saw. So they cursed the show,” director of the show’s Cincy Shakes production in 2019, Miranda McGee said.
While the exact causes of the curse are murky, popular folklore states that a coven of witches was upset that Shakespeare used real incantations and spells in Macbeth, and thus cursed it.
“You can call it superstition, but undoubtedly there are many examples of bad things happening,” a cast member of a 2016 production of the play in Harlem, Anthony Vaughn Merchant said.
The curse has followed many companies. It’s a popular belief that theaters would only put on the show if they fell on hard times financially, as it was and still is a popular show that’s almost guaranteed to bring in money. “Bad things” may be a bit of an understatement. Many lives have been lost to the supposed curse, such as the suicide of two crew members and Laurence Oliver being narrowly missed by a 25-pound stage weight in John Gielgud’s production. Curse or no curse, there’s no doubt that the mention of Macbeth strikes fear into the hearts of actors and crews everywhere. This year, during our One Act Play production of the show, many cast members got sick on competition day.
“We have no idea if it was a mere coincidence, or if it was the result of something more sinister at play,” junior technician Maite Cano said. “Despite all this, the show must (and will!) go on as they say.”
