.......but I don't think anyone can give the exact origin behind saying "the Scottish
play" in the
theatre.
.............
I think I posted it on here once, but I'd be happy to repost it here in a welcoming thread.
The Story of the Scottish
Play:
As told to Van by someone he can't remember who.
Shakespeare wrote the Scottish
play while James was on the throne, not Elizabeth. As many people know king James was responsible, or rather, inspired the compilation of the "King James" version of the Christian Bible. This was not because he was an incredibly devote Christian but more because he was a devote student of the Occult. James was facisnated with anything pertaining to the occult, Magic, WitchCraft,
etc. Now most people know that characters in the Scottish
Play were inspired by actual ancestors of James, Banquo, I believe. This was an attempt, on Shakespeares part, to legitamize James' claim upon the throne of Scotland, but beyond this obvious flattery there
lay another more subtle form. Since as we all know the Scottish
Play begins with the scene of the witches, and since Shakespeare was well aware of James' fascination with all things Occult, the story goes that he, Shakespeare, visited an actual coven of witches, ostensibly, to get background info for the characters. In actuallity, he was taking notes so he could incorporate some "real" witchcraft into the script he was working on. When James originally saw the production he was fascinated by the inclusion of obscure ritual. The Witches, however, were not. As a result of betraying their trust in allowing him to observe thier rituals, they cursed his
play. Shakespeare, in an attempt to remove the curse, changed the text and inserted the now famous," Boil,Boil, and cauldron
bubble...." nonsense. It did not work however, and the script remains curse to this day.
Well that's the way it was told to me. Do I believe it ? Hmmmmm. I don't know.