Macbeth’s curse hits Rough Magic, twice, before opening night
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Say the name "Macbeth" in a theater, and someone will gasp. Centuries after Shakespeare introduced the doomed Scottish king, the curse still has stage crews knocking on wood.
“Some things are gonna go wrong,” said theater artist Catherine Justice.
The curse likely dates back to the first production of “Macbeth,” which the Royal Shakespeare Company says was marked by injuries, accidents, and even a death onstage.
Like many before her, Justice was not spared.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Justice’s company, Rough Magic, has been developing an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. While it was supposed to premiere last summer, fate had other plans.
“It was originally supposed to open on Friday, June 13, which we thought was funny,” Justice said.
Not being firm believers in the curse, the cast and crew said “Macbeth” freely. Then, a week before opening, a key cast member dropped out for personal reasons, forcing the show to be postponed.
“We were laughing in the face of a curse that should not have been messed with,” Justice said.
A curse reimagined
It’s a few months later, and Rough Magic’s adaptation is set to debut.
“The Macbeths” focuses on the marriage at the heart of the story and explores Lady Macbeth’s trauma as the result of repeated pregnancy loss.
Justice wrote the new version of the play and also stars as Lady Macbeth. She incorporated Sylvia Plath’s poem “Parliament Hill Fields,” which explores the pain of miscarriage.
“When I looked at her again in that light, it made me, gave me so much more sympathy for her,” Justice said, admitting her own postpartum depression was a factor when writing “The Macbeths.” “It made me see her in a whole new light.”
The show reflects Rough Magic’s commitment to telling women’s stories — though the company defines “woman” broadly and inclusively.
The cast of “The Macbeths” is made up of women and non-binary performers, who take on multiple roles across the gender spectrum. For instance, Ashawnti Sakina Ford plays King Duncan, Lord Macduff and the three witches.
Hocus, focus
“I love drawing on past influences,” Ford said of her approach to character work. For the three witches, she pulls heavily from established archetypes, like those seen in the Sanderson Sisters in the 1993 family comedy “Hocus Pocus.”
“I’ve been just trying to find the three different types of witches we see in culture, and see how I can embody them for this adaptation,” Ford said.
Still, the curse of “Macbeth” seems to linger in Rough Magic’s rehearsal hall.
Shortly before opening night, an actor yet again had to drop out, and now other cast members will shift around to fill the role.
But this isn’t just a story about a curse: it’s one of perseverance and finding a way forward, despite bad omens.
“The Macbeths” runs through Nov. 29 at the Center for Performing Arts in Minneapolis.
