WEBVTT - Is There a Real Witches' Curse in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, they're

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. If you're listening in

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<v Speaker 1>a theater, you might want to save this one for later,

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<v Speaker 1>because today we're talking about the Scottish play. William Shakespeare's

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<v Speaker 1>tragedy Macbeth is steeped in deceit, murder, and manipulation, and

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded by real life superstitions enough that plenty of theater

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<v Speaker 1>professionals and enthusiasts won't even say the word Macbeth outside

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<v Speaker 1>of the actual staging of a show. In the play,

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<v Speaker 1>the Scottish general Macbeth returns home from the battlefield and

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<v Speaker 1>encounters three witches who make a trio of prophecies. Many

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<v Speaker 1>playgoers and performers believe that incantations in Macbeth were genuine

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<v Speaker 1>curses taken from an actual coven. It's certainly one explanation

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<v Speaker 1>for all of the injuries, accidents, and illnesses that have

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<v Speaker 1>befallen so many of the people involved with its productions.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, during the first performance of Vicbeth and the

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<v Speaker 1>early six hundreds, the actor portraying Lady Macbeth fell ill

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<v Speaker 1>and died on stage, forcing Shakespeare to take over the role.

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<v Speaker 1>In later performances, theatergoers sometimes became so caught up in

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<v Speaker 1>the action that they formed angry mobs and tried to

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<v Speaker 1>exact justice on the antagonist, Lady Macbeth. Once in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>forty nine, more than thirty people died when rioting occurred

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<v Speaker 1>part way through the play. Legendary actors like Laurence Olivier

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<v Speaker 1>and Charlton Heston experienced close calls during performances. Olivier, who

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<v Speaker 1>played Macbeth in nineteen thirty seven, was nearly crushed to

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<v Speaker 1>death by a stage light. Heston, who took the role

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<v Speaker 1>on in nineteen fifty three, was severely burned on his

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<v Speaker 1>lower extremities after his tights were somehow dusting Kerosene, the

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<v Speaker 1>eddy of misfortunes swirling around Macbeth, seems to mimic the

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<v Speaker 1>tragedies that take place on stage. Lady Macbeth, in an

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<v Speaker 1>effort to speed her husband's rise to the throne, encourages

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<v Speaker 1>him to murder the reigning king. When Macbeth does, he

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<v Speaker 1>enters into a state of paranoia. He murders his best friend,

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<v Speaker 1>whose children are prophesies to take the throne in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as an entire family who sees his competition.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, a lady Macbeth dies of guilt and

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<v Speaker 1>Macbeth is killed two. Meanwhile, audiences have been left to

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<v Speaker 1>wonder whether the witches after whom the Macbeth rolls were

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<v Speaker 1>patterned might have stolen into the theater, watched the first

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<v Speaker 1>dress rehearsal, and left a curse that has endured for centuries.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps they didn't appreciate their spells being put on display

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<v Speaker 1>for public consumption. Maybe they just weren't fans of the theater.

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<v Speaker 1>Whatever the reason, legend has it that they've banded together

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<v Speaker 1>and cursed the play's future productions. There are other, perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>more plausible explanations, though for starters, most of the plays

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<v Speaker 1>performed in dimly lit and foggy conditions, which have probably

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<v Speaker 1>led to many of the on stage accidents that have

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<v Speaker 1>plague productions. And then there are the fight scenes. Macbeth

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<v Speaker 1>has more skirmishes than most plays, which increases the odds

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<v Speaker 1>that something will go wrong. Condense all this strife into

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<v Speaker 1>the Bard's shortest tragedy, it's no wonder that people have

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<v Speaker 1>gotten hurt. All live productions flirt with mishaps, both large

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<v Speaker 1>and small. Costumes can malfunction, actors can get sick, crew

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<v Speaker 1>members of stained injuries. When multiplied by the thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>times Macbeth has been performed throughout the last four centuries,

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<v Speaker 1>these problems are bound to add up and perpetuate the

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<v Speaker 1>belief that the play is cursed. But if anything weird

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<v Speaker 1>happens to me after this episode, y'all take heat and

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<v Speaker 1>just be carefu well with that name. Yeah. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by Tristan McNeil.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other dramatic topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com.