Very superstitious writings on the wall in the Scottish play

Published on Thursday 8 May 2008 17:32

MACBETH! Someone must have said it in the dressing room before last Thursday's performance of Abigail's Party, at Musselburgh's Brunton Theatre.

Why else would actor Steve Dineen take a bad turn just as his character dies of a heart attack, forcing his co-star to utter that immortal phrase: "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Or so those of a super-stitious bent might have us believe. Thankfully, Dineen recovered quickly and no lasting damage was done. It was just one of those things, a bit of bad luck, but then showbiz and superstition have always gone hand in hand – and not just onstage.

In the movie world and on TV, talk of jinxed produc-tions is nothing new. When BBC Scotland filmed The Omega Factor in the Capital in the 1970s there were claims of strange happenings.

In one episode of the drama, which starred James Hazeldine and Louise Jameson as paranormal investigators, all the studio clocks stopped simultan-eously. In another a Ouija board moved on its own and while shooting in an Edin-burgh graveyard, a camera-man saw the 'Devil' just before his camera died and a tombstone toppled over. Planned to run 13 episodes the show was cancelled after ten.

Even the name is Bond, James Bond, isn't enough to keep the unseen at bay. Rumours that the latest 007 movie, Quantum of Solace, is cursed emerged last month after the inexplicable destruction of Bond's Aston Martin. Driving along a gently winding road the driver delivering the vehicle lost control and smashed through a guard-rail into Lake Garda.

Earlier in the shoot a stuntman was injured during a car chase while, in the most serious incident, two stuntmen were badly hurt during a chase involving a lorry and a car. The bad luck started after a punter, who had stopped to watch a location shoot, suffered a heart attack and died.

However, it's on stage where the superstitious actor is most at risk. To utter the name Macbeth,unless in a line of dialogue, brings instant bad luck. Try it.

If you ever get backstage, instead of saying "The Scottish Play", as Shakes-peare's masterpiece is referred to by thesps, say "Macbeth" and watch them grab for the nearest crucifix or lucky rabbit's foot as they rush you outside the building. There, to redeem yourself, you must turn three times and swear loudly. Expect to hear profanities uttered in Grindlay Street when the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company open their 2008/9 season, with the play.

The unluckiest Macbeth ever must surely have been the 1937 production starring Laurence Olivier. First, he narrowly missed being struck by a 25lb stage-weight; then his sword broke, flew into the audience and hit a man who later suffered a heart attack.

The director and the Lady Macduff were later involved in a car accident on the way to the theatre. Oh, and the theatre owner died of a heart attack during the dress rehearsal. Creepy.

The origins of other stage superstitions are easier to explain: Whistling in a theatre is taboo. Long before scenery was lowered by computers, everything was flown on stage by an army of flymen, using a pulley system of ropes. Many of the best were old sea-dogs, used to commands issued through whistles, and whistling could mean a beam landing on the head.

Now, that is what I call bad luck.