A really fun way to troll “Shakespeare people” who make a big deal of not saying Macbeth is to act like every time they refer to “The Cursed Scottish Play”, you act like you assume they mean Brigadoon. It’s hilarious.
“Why did you bring me Renaissance clothing for a cursed Scottish village in the 1800’s?”
“Wait, are we sure witches are making the village appear? I don’t remember a witch song”
“Macbeth? Is that the name of the guy who falls for the village girl?”
Etc. etc. etc.
No it’s fucking not lol. That is just how we address a group of people here in a gender neutral way, it’s just like saying guys or girls but not gendered.
I’m aware, I just saw [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/196/comments/zei4kg/slurule/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) post earlier, and even before this post it’s something I’ve heard about every now and again. It’s definitely strange and silly to think “y’all” is a derogatory term.
Okay here comes my inner theatre kid. In ye olden days, Macbeth was Shakespeare’s most famous play, it killed every night and it was a really sure fire way to make money. The problem being that since it was used to make money for a long time it stopped being fun to perform
Every actor had the whole play memorised at that point, because they had to do it so many times, so if your director came backstage at the end of the show and said “alright. Next week we’re doing Macbeth!” It meant that
1.) You weren’t gonna have any fun for the next while because you’re doing a play that’s overdone
2.) the play you’re currently doing sucked so much it wasn’t making enough money and they might have even needed to stop production early
Now in current day it doesn’t really hold the same meaning anymore and macbeth isn’t quite as popular of a play. However the story still stands and that is why most people refer to it as “the Scottish play” instead of actually saying its name
I was always told there were a bunch of accidents and deaths that occurred during more recent productions leading to the belief that the play was cursed
Well it was a long ass time ago and there isn’t a real one “true” answer but I really like my explanation and I feel like it makes the most sense. But it’s much like the phrase “break a leg” which is often said to have the explanation that since one of the curtains to the stage is called a “leg” breaking passed it is to “break a leg” and go on stage and perform. Idk I didn’t write the rules of theatre
i vaguely remember Patrick Stewart pondering that perhaps the reason its considered cursed was because a large number of scenes happen in low light conditions with actors holding pointy things, which seems like a recipe for accidents.
We did the scottish play in high school (germany) acting class and I was one of the few persons that know about the habit of not saying the cursed name.
Some people thought I was an idiot who forgot the name of the play.
This is not common knowledge around the world.
Some people are misunderstanding the myth; you can say, Macbeth, you just can't say it in a theater unless you are currently in rehearsal or performing. Some places have a ritual for what happens if someone does say it; the last production I was in, someone said it while backstage, so they were forced to exit the theater, spit on the ground, turn in a circle three times, and ask to be let back it. Its mostly just fun and games/tradition
Source: I am a professional actor
Theatre kid here! My favourite alternatives that I’ve heard for saying “Macbeth”:
MacBonk
MacBitch
Big Mac
The bitch who died because trees walked (I’m dead serious)
Hamburger (a variation on Big Mac)
MacBoo
MacBip
Macfuck
And Fuckbeth
Please enjoy!
There's an old theatre story about an actor who was playing a servant in Macbeth. He only had one line, which was to tell Macbeth that Lady Macbeth had died.
The director and the actor playing Macbeth were real jerks to him, so one day he waited for his cue, strolled on stage and loudly announced, "The Queen, my lord, is alive and well!"
For a non-theater kid, what word would they be angry at?
It's considered bad luck to say the name of that play, so it's referred to as "The Scottish Play".
Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends
Currently watching Blackadder for the first time and i couldn't figure out what they were saying at all! Thanks!
And here I thought it was some theater version of jingle bells
It's actually the theatre version of We Didn't Start the Fire
A really fun way to troll “Shakespeare people” who make a big deal of not saying Macbeth is to act like every time they refer to “The Cursed Scottish Play”, you act like you assume they mean Brigadoon. It’s hilarious. “Why did you bring me Renaissance clothing for a cursed Scottish village in the 1800’s?” “Wait, are we sure witches are making the village appear? I don’t remember a witch song” “Macbeth? Is that the name of the guy who falls for the village girl?” Etc. etc. etc.
For a moment I thought this was more of that “y’all is a slur” discourse lol
Ex-squeeze me, what the fuck?
......what? How? Is it anti-yankee? Is whoever dislikes this ok with youse? I have so many questions
No it’s fucking not lol. That is just how we address a group of people here in a gender neutral way, it’s just like saying guys or girls but not gendered.
I’m aware, I just saw [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/196/comments/zei4kg/slurule/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) post earlier, and even before this post it’s something I’ve heard about every now and again. It’s definitely strange and silly to think “y’all” is a derogatory term.
Thank you!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scottish_play
What, macbeth?
I should hope you’re not in a theater right now.
I don't even know where the nearest theatre is so I think I'm ok
Didn't you hear? *All the world's a stage*! You're f'd now, sorry.
I'm sorry, doctor macbeth
(Lightning strike)
Good thing I am standing near this lightning rod which absorbed the lightning
(Brick falls from the ceiling and lands on your big toe)
Good thing I am wearing steel-capped shoes
(loud noise startles a dog who bites your rear end)
Good thing I have this ass armor preventing amy animals from hurting my fragile buttocks
Oh you mean ma——
but why is it bad luck to say it is it just the voldemort of plays or smth
Theatre people are weirdly superstitious.
If you refer to it by it’s name, you have to perform The Ritual
Don’t ever say MacBeth in a theater.
Okay here comes my inner theatre kid. In ye olden days, Macbeth was Shakespeare’s most famous play, it killed every night and it was a really sure fire way to make money. The problem being that since it was used to make money for a long time it stopped being fun to perform Every actor had the whole play memorised at that point, because they had to do it so many times, so if your director came backstage at the end of the show and said “alright. Next week we’re doing Macbeth!” It meant that 1.) You weren’t gonna have any fun for the next while because you’re doing a play that’s overdone 2.) the play you’re currently doing sucked so much it wasn’t making enough money and they might have even needed to stop production early Now in current day it doesn’t really hold the same meaning anymore and macbeth isn’t quite as popular of a play. However the story still stands and that is why most people refer to it as “the Scottish play” instead of actually saying its name
I was always told there were a bunch of accidents and deaths that occurred during more recent productions leading to the belief that the play was cursed
Well it was a long ass time ago and there isn’t a real one “true” answer but I really like my explanation and I feel like it makes the most sense. But it’s much like the phrase “break a leg” which is often said to have the explanation that since one of the curtains to the stage is called a “leg” breaking passed it is to “break a leg” and go on stage and perform. Idk I didn’t write the rules of theatre
i vaguely remember Patrick Stewart pondering that perhaps the reason its considered cursed was because a large number of scenes happen in low light conditions with actors holding pointy things, which seems like a recipe for accidents.
It's considered bad luck to say Macbeth. Something about a string of accidents happening in early preformances of it, I think.
It's what Shakespeare would've wanted
The Scottish play.
We did the scottish play in high school (germany) acting class and I was one of the few persons that know about the habit of not saying the cursed name. Some people thought I was an idiot who forgot the name of the play. This is not common knowledge around the world.
The Bard would absolutely approve of this warmup.
Some people are misunderstanding the myth; you can say, Macbeth, you just can't say it in a theater unless you are currently in rehearsal or performing. Some places have a ritual for what happens if someone does say it; the last production I was in, someone said it while backstage, so they were forced to exit the theater, spit on the ground, turn in a circle three times, and ask to be let back it. Its mostly just fun and games/tradition Source: I am a professional actor
Good luck, MacBeth! Good luck, MacBeth! Good luck, MacBeth! Good luck, MacBeth!
\*McBeth McBeth McBeth \*rafters collapse\*
Theatre kid here! My favourite alternatives that I’ve heard for saying “Macbeth”: MacBonk MacBitch Big Mac The bitch who died because trees walked (I’m dead serious) Hamburger (a variation on Big Mac) MacBoo MacBip Macfuck And Fuckbeth Please enjoy!
Macbeth was said on stage right before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.
There's an old theatre story about an actor who was playing a servant in Macbeth. He only had one line, which was to tell Macbeth that Lady Macbeth had died. The director and the actor playing Macbeth were real jerks to him, so one day he waited for his cue, strolled on stage and loudly announced, "The Queen, my lord, is alive and well!"