The Curse Of Macbeth
"Macbeth is the unlucky play of the theatre and has, for four hundred years, carried in its wake a truly terrifying trail of disaster and bad luck." (Huggett p153) Macbeth is one of the gloomiest and most despairing of any tragedy ever written. The play is so preoccupied with witchcraft and generates such a powerful atmosphere of evil and sickening dread that even reading it could make anyone tremble with fear. Murder, betrayal, mysterious accidents, witchcraft, sabotage, assassinations, superstition and folklore all take center stage in what is considered one of Shakespeare's most magnificent, popular, cursed and unlucky plays, Macbeth. Macbeth is seldom called by its true name; it is often referred to as "The Scottish Play", "The Unmentionable", or simply "That Play" by actors and civilians alike.(Huggett p154) Anyone whether they are superstitious or simply value their surroundings, should take caution in using, doing or saying anything that has to do with one of the most well known plays of all time, Macbeth. The first factor having said to have a great effect on the play is that the play is loosely based on facts from Scottish history and the death of King Duncan at the hands of his kinsmen Macbeth.(Legends p1) The
During the play he was stabbed by a real knife in full view of the audience and died later on. The biggest mistake Shakespeare could have ever possibly made was in the opening scenes of Macbeth. (Macbeth Curse p2) There are many instances where the curse had been taken for granted and this, by all means, is the biggest mistake any actor could make. In the 1942 production of Macbeth headed by John Geilgud, three actors, including Duncan and two witches, died and the costume and set designer committed suicide amongst his Macbeth creations. He was extremely displeased with the play and after it's first performance it was banned for 5 years, and so began the curse of Macbeth. (Huggett p158) Whether it is pure coincidence or mere fact that Macbeth is cursed, there are incidents until this very day that provide examples of the unfortunate events that this play brings with its name. Mathew Locke's music which was used for the Musical version of Macbeth is now avoided by all play writes who intend to have a long standing career in theatre. (The Curse of Macbeth p1) In 1937 Laurence Olivier was nearly killed when a 25-pound stage weight crashed within inches of him, breaking his sword which flew into the audience and hit a man whom later died of a heart attack. (Huggett p184) The most common remedy to get rid of the curse after it is in effect is for the offender to step outside, turn around three times, spit, and say the foulest word they can think of and afterwards they must wait and beg for permission to be admitted into the theater. " (Huggett p179) It is better to not put the curse into effect at all, for sometimes it is not possible to exorcise it fast enough. Shakespeare decided that since the King was so knowledgeable of witchcraft that he would use real incantations for the scenes of the play that called for them. "He grew up with a morbid interest in witchcraft and an obsessive fear of the devil. In the 1953 Bermuda production of Macbeth Charlton Heston suffered severe burns to his groin and leg area after his tights were "accidentally" pre-soaked in Kerosene. " The Merchant is a lucky play and has an exorcising effect on Macbeth.
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