On this date in 1720 the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened. To celebrate its 300th anniversary, here are 10 theatrical superstitions and the possible reasons behind them:
- One we’re probably all familiar with is that it’s considered bad luck to wish an actor “Good luck” before a performance, and that the accepted thing to say is “break a leg”. The spooky explanation is that the mischievous spirits which live in theatres will use their magic to make the opposite of a person’s wish happen. Other theories suggest it’s nothing to do with the actor’s leg, but more those of the audience, from the time in ancient Greece when audiences showed appreciation by stamping their Feet. Or it may not be a human leg at all, but part of the theatre curtains. Breaking a leg could originally have meant crossing in front of the curtain and therefore entering the spotlight, or that the actor gets so many curtain calls that the leg breaks.
- Another thing you should never say in a theatre is the name of a certain play by William Shakespeare. Some say this is because the play Macbeth includes Witches calling upon evil spirits; or because the actor playing Lady Macbeth died on the opening night and Shakespeare himself had to step into the breach; or because injuries from fight scenes were common, and in 1849 a riot which killed 25 people broke out in connection with the play. If you need to talk about it, you must refer to it as “The Scottish Play,” “The Bard’s Play”, or “Mac B.” Needless to say, people forget sometimes but it’s not the end of the world if you follow procedures to negate the curse, such as reciting any line from the lucky play Two Gentlemen of Verona, or “If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here, whilst these visions did appear” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Failing that, you must leave the building, run around it three times, spit, spin around three times, curse and then beg to be let back in.
- Actors must never wear Blue or Green on stage. This is less often adhered to these days. Blue dye was the most expensive, so producers used to be unwilling to fork out for it. Telling the actors it was bad luck prevented them from insisting on expensive blue costumes. Why not green? The spooky reason for this is because the actor/playwright Molière suffered a coughing fit on stage because he had TB, and while he adhered to the maxim “the show must go on” and finished the performance, he died soon after the curtain fell. He happened to be wearing a green costume. The mundane reason is that early spotlights emitted a greenish light, so an actor in green might be less visible.
- It’s bad luck to whistle backstage. This one arose from a health and safety rule. Before there were such things as hydraulic lifts and warning lights, scenery had to be hefted around by burly blokes using ropes. The stagehands would signal to each other by whistling, so anyone casually whistling risked having a piece of heavy scenery dropped on their head.
- Leaving a single light lit on stage even when the theatre is empty has similar origins. The first person to come in on any given day was at risk of tripping over scenery and props or even falling through a trapdoor, so a light was needed for health and safety, but theatre lore makes it spooky. The light is called a ghost light, and is said to ward off evil spirits or an individual theatre’s resident ghost. Or it might placate them by giving them their own spotlight to perform in when nobody else is around.
- Many theatres tell tales about being haunted by the ghosts of actors who performed there in days gone by, especially if they came to a sticky end. The New Amsterdam Theater in New York, for example, is haunted by the ghost of Olive Thomas, a showgirl who married Jack, the brother of silent film star Mary Pickford. The relationship was volatile, and on a second honeymoon in 1920 she died, aged 26, from ingesting mercury bichloride, which had been prescribed to Jack. No-one knows for sure whether it was suicide, an accidental overdose or even poisoning. She is said to haunt the theatre carrying a small blue bottle (like the one the chemicals which killed her came in) and wearing a green, beaded dress. She is said to appear mainly to men and may even pinch their bottoms. Her portrait hangs by the stage door so that actors and staff can bid her goodnight as they leave, and so appease her spirit. Even if a theatre doesn’t have a resident ghost, when things go wrong they can blame the ghost of Thespis, said to be the first actor in ancient Greece (the word “thespian” comes from him).
- Flowers must only be given to a performer after a performance. They are an appreciation for a good performance and rewarding someone for something they haven’t done yet is a no-no. There’s another tradition regarding flowers for the director of a show – they should be given a bouquet that has been stolen from a graveyard. Whether this arose from the end of a production being compared to the “death” of the show, or because actors didn’t earn enough to actually buy the flowers is a matter for debate.
- There are a number of things which should never be carried on stage. Peacock feathers, because they look like the evil eye. Mirrors, which are bad luck, but again this might have arisen from health and safety with actors potentially dazzled by a reflected spotlight. Real Money and jewellery is also said to be unlucky, but this may have been down to poorly paid actors who might have been tempted to pocket some of it.
- Another tradition forbids the lighting of three candles on stage. Superstition dictates that the person standing closest to the smallest candle will be the first to die. Again, there is a mundane health and safety reason for this as well. It’s a Fire risk. The more candles, the bigger the fire risk.
- If the dress rehearsal is a disaster, it means the show will be a hit. A good omen? Or do the actors simply try harder on opening night if the dress rehearsal was a fiasco?
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