Saying “Macbeth” in a Theater

General Information About Item:

  • Type of Lore: Customary, superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country: United States
  • Informant: Gus Guskowski
  • Date Collected: 5/21/20

Informant Data:

  • Gus Guskowski is a Dartmouth ’22 from rural Massachusetts. They live with their mother and father. On campus, they are actively involved with the Dartmouth Rude Mechanicals, Dartmouth’s student-run Shakespeare troupe. They intend to major in classics.

Contextual Data:­

  • Cultural Context: Among theatre groups, the superstition of never saying Macbeth in a theatre is widespread. The informant remarked that they had encountered this superstition in essentially all the theatre groups that they were a part of. The informant is unsure of the origin of this superstition, but suspects they read it in a book before encountering it in reality.
  • Social Context: This superstition is most widely practiced among theatre groups and has a very specific social context. When within the walls of a theatre, it is forbidden to mention the Shakespeare play Macbeth by its title. Instead, the moniker “The Scottish play” is used. This functions as a clear identity marker for those “in the know” about theatre customs – mentioning Macbeth by name is a clear marker of an outsider.

Item:

  • While with a theatre (during rehearsal/performance), it is bad luck to mention the Shakespeare play Macbeth by name. Mentioning the character Macbeth from the play, however, is not bad luck.

 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 

Transcript:

  • “The Rude Mechs (Dartmouth Rude Mechanicals) have the whole “never say Macbeth in a theatre” thing that some of us believe in more than others, but we do technically subscribe to that superstition.”

 

Informant’s Comments:

  • On the distinction between the name of the play and that of the character – “If you’re performing the show Macbeth, they say the name Macbeth in that show a lot, so you literally could not do the show if you weren’t allowed to say (Macbeth’s) name.”
  • The informant also mentioned a high school play they were a part of where the superstition was not practiced by the director of the play. This play went wrong in a variety of ways, lending anecdotal evidence to the superstition.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This superstition, as most superstitions do, enforces deference to forces that are supernatural or superrational. The informant mentioned a vague idea of some curse on the play itself, bringing magic into the realm of superstition.

Collector’s Name: Ted McManus

Tags/Keywords:

  • Theater, Macbeth, Superstitions, Luck