It is thought that when "Macbeth" is said, that something is going to go wrong, especially during the production of a play if it is said during a rehearsal or performance. This can be something as minor as a tiny prop breaking or major such as an actor receiving a major injury. The origins of this superstition are not known, however there are plenty of anecdotes about things that have gone wrong during performances of Macbeth that make people think the play is cursed.
The theory that William Shakespeare had to replace the actor who played Lady Macbeth in the very first production is not true. It is known that Maximilian Beerbohm, an English parodist, created this story for a theatrical review published in the October 1, 1898 edition of the London publication, The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art.
In 1937, many disasters happened during a performance run of Macbeth at the Old Vic Theatre. The director, Michael Saint-Denis barely escaped death when he was involved in a taxi accident. Darius Milhaud kept tearing up pages of his music because he was not happy with his musical score. Opening night was postponed when Lilian Baylis was sent into major depression after her favorite dog died. Baylis then died one day before the show's postponed opening. A falling sandbag nearly hit Laurence Olivier on the head and Olivier kept wounding many of the actors who played Macduff because of his passionate acting that would truly wound them in the final battle scene.
In 1849, during a production of Macbeth in New York, the American actor Edwin Forrest and the English actor, William Charles Macready, who both played Macbeth in opposing productions had a rivalry that caused a riot at Astor Place. This resulted in at least 20 deaths and more than 100 injuries. .
In 1953, the stage caught on fire during an open air production in which Charles Heston starred. This happened because it was meant for Macbeth's castle to be burned on stage, but the wind blew the fire in unexpected directions. This included blowing it into the audience, which ran away. Heston also suffered from leg and groin burns as for some reason, his tights had accidentally been soaked in kerosene.
Saying "Macbeth" has even migrated into film production. During the 2018 taping of Hereditary writer and director Ari Aster said "Macbeth" after the actor Alex Wolff told him that "Macbeth" shouldn't be said. During the shooting of the scene after Aster said "Macbeth," one of the lights burst.
There are superstitions that have to do with breaking the curse. Many of them involve going outside of the theatre, spinning around three times and spitting. This can be accompanied by having to say something such as a swear word or a line from another Shakespeare play. Sir Patrick Stewart says that the only thing needed to undo the curse of anybody saying "Macbeth" in the theatre is to say any quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream.
You can watch him speak about it here:
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What would happen if someone changed all the names in the play, but otherwise performed it as normal?
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