"The Scottish play " and "The Bard's play " are euphemisms often used for William Shakespeare's Macbeth , the first being a reference to the play's Scottish setting, the second being a reference to Shakespeare himself. Saying "Macbeth" inside a theatre, or indeed saying the name at all, is often considered taboo, as it is thought to bring on the curse associated with the play. Sometimes "Mackers" is used to avoid saying the proper name, although mostly in North America. The male lead actor, more often than not, is referred to simply as the Scottish King. Another variation of the superstition forbids direct quotation of the play while within a theatre.

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Rituals and cultural references

There are a variety of traditional rituals used to ward off evil when the play is mentioned, such as turning three times, spitting over one's left shoulder, swearing, or reciting a line from another of Shakespeare's plays, often "Angels and ministers of grace defend us," (Hamlet 1.IV), "If we shadows have offended," (Midsummer Night's Dream 5.ii), or "Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you" (The Merchant of Venice , 3.IV). When the name of the play is spoken in a theatre, tradition requires that the person must leave, perform one of a number of rituals, and be invited back in. Another popular cleansing ritual involves leaving the theater, spinning around and brushing oneself off, and saying Macbeth three times before entering again. Parodies or references occur in the British TV series Blackadder the Third episode "Sense and Senility", in The Simpsons , where Sir Ian McKellen is struck by lightning after saying the play's name, in the film Never Say Macbeth with Mark Deklin and Alexander Enberg and in the film The Dresser with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay.

Variations of the ritual are demonstrated on the YTV/Discovery Kids series show "Mystery Hunters", in the twelfth episode of the first season. In the Nickelodeon series, Jimmy Neutron, Carl warns the cast "Don't say Macbeth!" only to realize that he himself has said Macbeth. The lead actor subsequently breaks his leg (as a humorous joke to saying to the phrase "Break a leg", which is supposed to bring good luck).

The main story arc of the second season of the Canadian TV series Slings and Arrows follows a staging of Macbeth; repeated references to the curse include that season's main title sequence and theme music, where two veteran Shakespeare performers sing that they'll never play a character "whose name one dare not speak."

J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series uses the term "The Scottish Book" to refer to an encyclopedia of her fantasy world she intends to write.

Origins

Productions of Macbeth are said to have been plagued with accidents, many ending in death; the play does include more fight scenes and other such opportunities for accidents than does the average play, and the atmosphere in the backstage area of old-fashioned theaters was a prime setting for disasters, especially when dealing with potentially dangerous equipment. According to legend, this dates back to the original performance of the play, in which prop daggers were mistakenly swapped for real ones, resulting in a death.

Those who believe in the curse of Macbeth claim its origin to be in the three Witches, who in the play are said to be casting real spells. It has also been suggested that the inclusion of the character Hecate, frequently cut from productions of the play due to questions about her part's authorship, will intensify the effects of the curse.

The popularity of the superstition might also be related to its mild hazing aspect. Veteran actors might relate some tale of woe that they witnessed personally due to someone invoking the curse, lending credibility and immediacy to the tale.

One hypothesis for the origin of this superstition is that Macbeth , being a popular play, was commonly put on by theatres in danger of going out of business, or that the high production costs of Macbeth put the theatre in financial trouble. An association was made between the production of Macbeth and theatres going out of business.

According to the superstition, Shakespeare got a few of the lines from an actual coven of witches and when they saw the play they were greatly offended and cursed the play. Another tradition tells that the original propmaster could not find a suitable pot for a cauldron and stole one from a coven, who then cursed the play in revenge for the theft. It is believed that breaking the taboo calls the ghosts of the three witches to the show and it is they who cause all the mishaps. The last, and probably most spectacular view of the curse is that Shakespeare used the curse in the play to actually curse the play himself, guaranteeing that no one other than himself would be able to direct the play.

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