Last week I let you into the vast world of theatre traditions and superstitions, many of which originate from the very early days of theatre and performance. There are just so many that I could write several columns on the subject but I’ve cut it down to just two, so here’s the second round.
One of the most famous theatre superstitions is to not say Macbeth in the building otherwise it brings bad luck. Some think this is because of the witch craft and sword fights in the play. An infamous story from the Coliseum’s history is actor Harold Norman’s death who performed in the play in the 40s. The safety tip fell off the end of the sword used in a fight scene and Harold ended up with a fatal stab wound, dying in hospital a few days later. It is reported that he had actually uttered the word Macbeth many times before the house opened that night.
The real reason it was bad luck was because the play is considered to be a seat filler and would only be programmed when a theatre was in financial trouble - usually closing soon after. Although that’s not the case these days, actors and crew will still refer to it as the Scottish play in the auditorium to make sure the current production is not cursed. There have even been stories of cast members acting out odd cleansing rituals if the play is spoken including turning three times, spitting over their left shoulder, swearing, or reciting a line from another of Shakespeare's plays.
Theatres leave a ghost light on stage during the night after everyone has left the building. The superstitious reason for this is to keep any ghosts in the building happy resulting in less hauntings for the theatre. There are even far-fetched tales of ghosts putting on their own plays in the dead of the night. In reality though, the practical use of this light is simply to prevent people from falling into the orchestra pit, bumping into the set or knocking over props. It could be said that by preventing this it stops actors and crew from harming themselves and becoming future ghosts – but I’m not too sure about that.
Many of the superstitions have derived from practical reasoning but that need has disappeared and the traditions have remained. For example; the green room is named such because it used to be painted green as that colour is relaxing for the eyes and for the actors and green costumes are considered bad luck and this stems from the practical fact that the colour green absorbs light, so if an actor wearing a green outfit was standing onstage next to someone in white then they would fade into the background and not be seen.
The list is endless but I’ll stop there. Even in the 21st Century many of these odd rituals still take place at theatres across the country.
See you at the theatre.
Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director
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