What is the Scottish play, and why won't actors say it by name?

Answer 1

First: "The Scottish play and The Bard's play are euphemisms often used for William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Saying 'Macbeth' inside a theatre is often considered taboo, as it is thought to bring on the curse associated with the play. The lead actors themselves are referred to as "Mr. and Mrs. M." or a variety of different names. The euphemism is so named because Macbeth is set in Scotland. Another variation of the superstition forbids direct quotation of the play while within a theatre."

And the origin: "Productions of the play are said to have been plagued with accidents, many ending in death; the play does include more fight scenes and other such opportunities for accidents than average. According to legend, this dates back to the original performance of the play, in which prop daggers were mistakenly swapped for real ones, resulting in a death.

Those who believe in the curse of Macbeth claim its origin to be in the three Witches, who in the play are said to be casting real spells. It has also been suggested that the inclusion of the character Hecate, frequently cut from productions of the play due to questions about her part's authorship, will intensify the effects of the curse.

The superstition's continued popularity may be due to the juicy stories of doom that grizzled actors tell newbies.

One commonly believed origin is that Macbeth, being a popular play, was commonly put on by theaters in danger of going out of business, or that the high production costs of Macbeth put the theater in financial trouble. An association was made between the production of Macbeth and theaters going out of business. Not to mention, "That Scottish Play" was - and is - a real crowd pleaser, so acting companies short on cash would put up the show, in hopes of raking in more money to keep themselves from going out of business."

Theatre people are crazy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scottish_play

Answer 2

The Scottish play is Macbeth. It's bad luck to say that name while onstage/ in the theatre. As far as outside the theatre... I haven't noticed any problems. I've done some acting, and I'm not overly superstitious, but I still think it's important to respect others. If someone doesn't like to hear "Macbeth" before a play, fine. I think the one exception might be if you are actually performing Macbeth. That would be hard...

Answer 3

Originally posted by: irishroulette, another yahoo user who answered this question so well in anohter thread it seems only fitting to give credit where credit is due.

"Okay here goes - I do actually know this because I am doing my masters degree in Renaissance literature: everyone's answer so far is correct but doesn't cover everything. First of all yes the fact that there are witches within the play that speak spells is the reason that the play is held under such awe. Renaissance society and everyone following them believed that the devil and witches could only be invoked if someone physically called them by name and thus into being: See Dr Faustus. And it was only then through a verbal agreement and your own name written in blood that the devil could take your soul. It is this power that is ascribed to verbal language that prompted the creation of exorcism rituals and the need to torture those believed to be posessed until the 'devil' inside you spoke their name. Once the priest knew the name of the demon he could then cast it out - hence the power of witches on stage saying spells. After this there were a series of unfortunate events with the staging of Macbeth, in the early 1600s in one staging the actor playing Macbeth actually murdered the other actor on stage playing Duncan, this was then followed by several incidents of people breaking limbs on stage, the death of Lincoln apparently after watching Macbeth, several fires and one Lady Macbeth going mad. The suspicion about Macbeth is now so rampant that actors will not say its name, however if you accidently say it whilst inside a theatre you must run outside and turn round three times and then spit on the ground hence casting out the bad luck that will attach itself to you if you have said Macbeth. Personally I think its all hokum but that's why saying Macbeth inside a theatre is bad luck!"

Answer 4

The above answers rawk.

And, it's fun to be superstitious and have traditions in the theater! There are a lot of them and the more we scoff them, the more we lose some of the richness of doing theater.

While I'd never make someone go outside, spin three times, spit and then knock and ask permission to re-enter -- I appreciate the fun that goes into it. And I feel the need to respect those who do value the oddities of this crazy business we call show.

In some ways its a rite of passage, learning about the Scottish play and 'break a leg' is like being duped when someone asks you for a "left handed monkey wrench" or a "sky hook" or a "chain filter". Being on the inside is part of the appeal of joining any group ... part of that is shared experiences (yikes, remember that last show?) and part of it is learning and participating in it's rich tradition.

In fact, I'll add another superstition to this list for y'all....
"never whistle in the theater". This one may have two origins, one is that sailors used to be hired as stagehands and they knew whistle codes to signal flying sails (or scenery) in and out. Someone whistling might get beaned! The other possibility is when gas lighting was used, if a flame when out the gas made a whistling sound ...and was uber-dangerous!

Break a leg!

or as the dancers say, "merde!"

Answer 5

"Macbeth" has the reputation for being a "cursed" play. In my experience (I've been in it twice, and directed it once), there's absolutely NOTHING to the curse business, but...there are certain theatre types who think it's "cool" to pretend to believe in such things. Terrible things are supposed to happen if you say the proper name of the play, or quote from the play, anywhere around the theatre.

It's a bunch of bull, frankly. When I directed the play, I made it abundantly clear to the cast/crew at our first meeting that I would quickly FIRE the first person who wasted five seconds of rehearsal time with "curse" nonsense. Oddly enough, the production went off without a hitch. I guess MY curse is stronger than the play's curse.

Answer 6

The theater is traditionally superstitious. Saying the name MacBeth was associated with bad luck.
This is where the expression “break a leg”. To break a leg would put an actor out of work and they might starve. To say it was believed to insure it wouldn’t happen and bring good luck.

Answer 7

Macbeth

Answer 8

Its called Macbeth and they say its bad luck to say the name of the play

Answer 9

MacBeth. its superstition for actors. they think the play will go bad if they say it.

Answer 10

Macbeth ... and it is pure superstition ... which seems to be able to cast a spell of its own in us humans. Fear is part of life naturally, but it isn't necessarily real.
Jonnie