Many people involved in the theater believe the play by Shakespeare which includes the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is a cursed play. Some of this no doubt stems from the subject matter: witchcraft (not to mention murder). Outdated and ridiculous as it may be, superstition holds that when one meddles with the forces of evil, even in the arts, evil might decide to take notice.

Whatever the reason, there are many stories about accidents happening to people involved with production of the play. Many are undoubtedly FOAFs, but collective belief/tenacity has ensured that many actors will not speak the name of this play or quote from it unless they are actively involved in a production at the time. To ward off evil, they refer to the play by "The Scottish Play" rather than by title.