1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hi, 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with another classic episode from 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: our podcast archives. This one has to do with Shakespeare's 4 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: Scottish play and why it's referred to as that sometimes 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: and how the idea that it's cursed may have gotten started. 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: Hey there, brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bam here. If you're 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: listening in a theater, you might want to save this 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: one for later, because today we're talking about the Scottish play. 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth is steeped in deceit, murder, and manipulation, 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: and surrounded by real life superstitions enough that plenty of 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: theater professionals and enthusiasts won't even say the word Macbeth 12 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,160 Speaker 1: outside of the actual staging of a show. In the play, 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: the Scottish General Macbeth returns home from the battlefield and 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: encounters three witches who make a trio of prophecies. Many 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: playgoers and performers believe the incantations in Macbeth were genuine 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: curses taken from an actual coven. It's so only one 17 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: explanation for all of the injuries, accidents, and illnesses that 18 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: have befallen so many of the people involved with its productions. 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: For example, during the first performance of Vicbeth and the 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: early sixteen hundreds, the actor portraying Lady Macbeth fell ill 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: and died on stage, forcing Shakespeare to take over the role. 22 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: In later performances, theatergoers sometimes became so caught up in 23 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: the action that they formed angry mobs and tried to 24 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,839 Speaker 1: exact justice on the antagonist Lady Macbeth. Once in eighteen 25 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: forty nine, more than thirty people died when rioting occurred 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: part way through the play. Legendary actors like Lawrence Olivier 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: and Charlton Heston experienced close calls during performances. Olivier, who 28 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: played McBeth in nineteen thirty seven, was nearly crushed to 29 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: death by a stage light. Heston, who took the role 30 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: on in nineteen fifty three, was severely burned on his 31 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: lower extremities after his tights were somehow dusting kerosene. The 32 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: eddy of misfortunes swirling around Macbeth seems to mimic the 33 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: tragedies that take place on stage. Lady Macbeth, in an 34 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: effort to speed her husband's rise to the throne encourages 35 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: him to murder the reigning king. When Macbeth does, he 36 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: enters into a state of paranoia. He murders his best friend, 37 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: whose children are prophesied to take the throne in the future, 38 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: as well as an entire family who sees his competition. 39 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: In the end, a lady Macbeth dies of guilt and 40 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: Macbeth is killed too. Meanwhile, audiences have been left to 41 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: wonder whether the witches after whom the Macbeth rolls were 42 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: patterned might have stolen into the theater, watched the first 43 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: address rehearsal, and left a curse that has endured for centuries. 44 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: Perhaps they didn't appreciate their spells being put on display 45 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: for public consumption. Maybe they just weren't fans of the theater. 46 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: Whatever the reason, legend has it that they banded together 47 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: and cursed the play's future productions. There are other, perhaps 48 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: more plausible explanations, though for starters, most of the plays 49 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: performed in dimly lit and foggy conditions, which have probably 50 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: led to many of the on stage accidents that have 51 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: plagued productions. And then there are the fight scenes. Macbeth 52 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: has more skirmishes than most plays, which increases the odds 53 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: that something will go wrong. Condense all this strife into 54 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: the Bard's shortest tragedy, It's no wonder that people have 55 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,839 Speaker 1: gotten hurt. All live productions flirt with mishaps both large 56 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,959 Speaker 1: and small. Costumes can malfunction, actors can get sick, crew 57 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: members of stained injuries. When multiplied by the thousands of 58 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: times Macbeth has been performed throughout the last four centuries, 59 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: these problems are bound to add up and perpetuate the 60 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: belief that the play is cursed. But if anything weird 61 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: happens to me after this episode, y'all take heat and 62 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: just be careful with that name. Yeah. Today's episode was 63 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by Tristan McNeil 64 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: and Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of 65 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: other topics of sound and fury, visit how stuff works 66 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. 67 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I Heart 68 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 69 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.