Languages and
themes

Who's this? Dominic Cooke is the director.

Context: Macbeth is a dark play in more ways than one. Much of the action takes place at night and so is played in relative darkness. Maybe accidents over the years have created the feeling that this play is unlucky: maybe this feeling comes from the way the play deals with the supernatural and our fear of the unknown.

Did you know? It is still considered bad luck to use the name 'Macbeth' on-stage and so it is often referred to as 'The Scottish Play'. Many theatre superstitions, however, come from sound practical origins. Whistling being unlucky, for example, stems from the time when stage hands were given signals by whistle; a whistle at the wrong time might cause a heavy piece of scenery to be moved or dropped from above.