I thought I’d take a quick break from the “I Can’t Believe That Happened On-Stage” series to address a question I got after rehearsal the other night. The question; “Why is Macbeth called the ‘cursed’ play?” Now, as an admitted Shakespeare freak I just had to answer and I thought I’d share it all with you as a reminder of our up coming production -(Order your tickets now!).

First of all, it’s not cursed. That’s a load of manure and has been from the beginning. But perhaps understanding how it started might hewlp alieviate some of the fears people have about even saying the name Macbeth outloud. The exact date that William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth is unknown. Though it was probably written around 1605-06 and performed at court before England’s new Scottish King James 1 on August 7, 1607. The first true recorded performance found for Macbeth was a performance held in the Globe Theatre in 1611, though most scholars belief this was probably a re-mounting of a previous production.It is the shortest tragedy written by Shakespeare and his second shortest play. Based on Rapheal Holinshed’s The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, published in 1577. Shakespeare took great delight in adapting a nearly five hundred year old tale for the stage, but it was really King James that Shakespeare was out to impress.When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, her Scottish cousin, King James VI of Scotland ascended the throne as King James I of England. One of King James’ first appointments was to awarded Shakespeare’s acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, with the new title, The King’s Men, making Shakespeare and company the court appointed theatre company and the most favored tragedians in the land. Such an honor deserved one in return. Shakespeare immediately set to dramatize the great Scottish legend of Macbeth, (It is even possible that James had requested the play himself.)Certain changes are made perhaps to curry favor with the new monarch. The character of Banquo, for instance is redeemed as a hero rather than a villain. King James believed he was a descendant of the real Banquo and must have liked to see his kinsman restored. Secondly, the conflict in Macbeth is changed from Scandinavia to Norway. James was married to Queen Anne of Norway. And as in most Shakespeare adaptations the action is condensed to take place over a few months rather than years as it does in Holinshed’s story. But the biggest change is the reason people today call Macbeth the cursed Scottish play. Shakespeare involved witches.James was an ardent believer in witches. He persecuted many in his native Scotland and was convinced that “witchery” was a true threat to mankind. Holinshed’s original tale contained three “weird sisters”, borrowing from the Greek theatre the idea of three fates that predicted the future. Weird (spelled wyrd then), simply meant fate. These women could predict the future that was all.Shakespeare makes them witches. They cas spells, fly through the air, and consort with familiars. In fact, his spells were so well written they terrified his Jacobean audiences who feared that the actors where actually cast spells on the spectators.

This simple act of playwright invention may have been a thrilling device, but it forever branded Macbeth as the cursed play. Actors rarely speak the title inside a theatre and simply refer to it as “the Scottish play” and careful count has been kept of the people who have been hurt, died, or at all damaged while performing it. Some have even said they had family members who suffered because they were involved in the play at the time.

Some people have even gone out of there way to look for mishaps and misfortunes surrounding the play. Frankly, if you look for anything long enough you’ll find it. I contend that more people have suffered a tragedy just watching a performance of Keanu Reeves than the four hundred years of Macbeth performances combined.

Of course, if you want to believe something then it’s true to you. For people who fear breaking a mirror or caution against walking under ladders, perhaps Macbeth is cursed to them. But it certainly wasn’t cursed to Shakespeare. These weren’t spells, just clever rhymes that have been used and uttered for centuries now.

Whether you consider it cursed or not, it hasn’t stopped the play from being considered one of the finest plays ever written. It is actually performed annually more than any other Shakespearean drama and has had more film adaptations than any other Shakespearean play. Currently, Macbeth is walking the stages of Broadway and Washington as well as here in Topeka, and I’m pleased to say we’ve yet to feel cursed while we rehearse our production. So order you tickets today, and if it helps, keep a rabbits foot in your pocket as you watch the show, you’ll feel better.

Shannon J. Reilly – Artistic Director

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Artistic Directors Remarks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.