Dragaera

Dragaera and Shakespeare [Spoiler for POTD]

Chris Olson - SunPS Chrisf.Olson at Sun.COM
Thu Feb 20 16:35:34 PST 2003

> Chris Olson - SunPS wrote:
> > Chris (Who, as an actor, has NO problem mentioning Macbeth in a
> > theater house, and gets a certain morbid pleasure out of it....:)
> 
> Is that some sort of acting faux pas?

Well, I know I've been threatened with saying it backstage.

So, yeah.  Along with a couple of other theater faux pas like
whistling back stage.  (Why would anyone care, unless it's during
a performance, if I whistle back stage?)

It's a superstition dating back awhile.  A production was going on
where some Bad Thing<tm> happened (I can't recall what it might have
been) and it was decided that it was caused by someone who said
Macbeth.  Therefore, no one is allowed to say Macbeth, under penalty
of being turned away from in disgust or annoyance.  I will say, however,
that not everyone agrees with this, and I've had more than one friend
backstage with me saying: "Hey, what's that Scottish play called?"  "What,
you mean MACBETH?!?"

Tehehe....
Chris