The Curse of MacbethMacbeth is one of the most popular Shakespeare plays, and almost everyone knows about the abundance of blood and gore, witches, Lady's ambition Macbeth and Banquo's ghost. However, few people know about the superstitions surrounding this coin. There is a long-held belief that the play brings bad luck, that any company that produces it courts disaster, and that mentioning the play (or even saying the title) leads to serious bad luck. There is no doubt that several superstitions are associated with Macbeth. Many actors refuse to pronounce the name of the play but instead call it "The Scottish Play" or even "The Plaid Play" (Gero). Some go even further, calling it “The Unnamable” or even “This Game” (Demcisak 8). The actors also look unkindly at anyone who says the main character's name or quotes the play while they are in the theater. The only way to “cure” the problem created is to perform a ritual. For example, the offending actor may be required to turn around three times and spit over their left shoulder, or turn around three times and quote A Midsummer Night's Dream (Faulkner). What is the proof of curse or curse? Bad luck certainly seems to follow productions of Macbeth. According to legend, during the first production of the play, the boy who played Lady Macbeth died backstage (Rozakis 245). By 1849, three of New York's theaters were showing Macbeth, and two of the lead actors had a serious rivalry. Edwin Forrest (one of Macbeths) is said to have encouraged some of his followers to disrupt his rival's theater production. In the resulting riot, thirty-one people were killed (Demcisak 7).Demcisak reports more tra...... newspaper middle......lt;http://ws.bowiestate .edu/archives/1995/0075.html>.Gagen, Steven. “The Scottish Play”. Online. February 6. [email protected]. 7 March 2001. Gero, Édouard. “Re: The Scottish play.” Online. February 8. [email protected]. 12 March 2001 "Ivanov goes to Moscow." Arts Zone. March 2, 2001. .Rozakis, Laurie. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare. New York: Alpha, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 1522-1634.