The Curse of Macbeth.

As many people already know, the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare has always had some supernatural effect on the players. It is said that there is a curse put on the play that if you utter any quotes or especially the name when not practicing you shall be destined to a bloody stage death. Rather than using the name Macbeth, the play is often referred to as "the Scottish play" or simply "the play". This is by far Shakespeare's bloodiest play of all time and the curse does not help that fact.


The Legend of the Curse
Throughout the play Shakespeare writes of three witches and some of their rituals, giving step by step instructions. It is said the the real witches, angry at him for sharing their secrets, put a curse on the play, making it one of the most dangerous plays of all time.


The Curse In Action
The many examples of the curse began with the very first performance of the play in 1606 when Shakespeare himself was forced to play Lady Macbeth due to the fact that the boy cast to play her had come down with fever and died. Another example is of a 1942 production of Macbeth where three actors- King Duncan and two witches- died and the costume and set designer committed suicide.


Getting rid of the Curse
Many people believe there are ways to get rid of the curse but to many they seem outrageous. One example is that upon muttering the word Macbeth you must immediately leave the building, walk around it three times, spit over your left shoulder, say an obscenity and then wait to be invited back in. All of the methods to dispel the curse are more or less the same with just a few changes.


Many people often wonder if the play is too dangerous to perform but the crowd always wins out and the play goes on.


The Most Famous Example of The Curse
The most famous and well known example of the curse on the play is a riot breaking out at Astor Place Theatre in New York in 1849. The National Guard was called in and began shooting into the crowd killing at least 25 and injuring around 120 others. Many say this was due to two of the players cast as Macbeth from two rival theatre groups' rival support but later was said to be just social class issues in New York at the time.


There is no hard evidence whether the play is cursed or not but there are definitely many examples that would lead to that conclusion.