Feeling Superstitious: Flowers and the Theatre - Shakespeare Theatre Company (2024)

FAQs

What was the belief about giving flowers on closing night instead of opening night? ›

A common source for flowers used to be graves. These funeral flowers were given to the leading lady and the director on closing night of a production, connecting the death of the show with mortuary flowers. There was also a practical reasoning behind these flowers.

Flowers have traditionally been showered on performers by adoring fans and appreciative theatergoers. Both professional and amateur performances now routinely feature the opening night flower storm. After a performance, it's customary to present flowers to both audience members and ballerinas, dancers, and performers.

Never bring a peaco*ck feather on stage.

The superstition is inspired by the pattern on the feather that, to many, looks like the evil eye. No theater production wants to risk offending an audience with this malevolent curse, which is supposed to bring misfortune or injury to anyone who casts it.

The Last Line.

It has been considered bad luck to say the final line of a show before it opens. In addition, taking bows to an empty house is considered a bad omen. It is a tribute that the show is not complete without the audience.

In America, it is considered bad luck to wish someone "good luck" in a theatre. Prior to performances, it is traditional for the cast to gather together to avert the bad luck by wishing each other bad luck or cursing, the expression "break a leg" replaces the phrase "good luck".

Tropic movements.

House of Flowers is a musical by Harold Arlen (music and lyrics) and Truman Capote (lyrics and book). A short story of the same name was published in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958).

The time honored technique and social tradition of audience members tossing flowers on stage to express their love, gratitude and appreciation to performing artists is unique in the arts. It is perhaps the most public and visible way of saying thanks to an artist for a superb performance.

The wilted black rose is often symbolically associated with extreme guilt and the inability to move on from deep trauma. This somber flower reflects the profound emotional struggle of an individual grappling with inner turmoil and remorse.

1) Saying “Macbeth” in the theatre curses the production.

It's said that the actor playing Lady Macbeth tragically died on opening night in 1606 and Shakespeare himself had to step in. Dueling Macbeth productions in New York caused the great Astor Place Riot in 1849, leaving at least 25 dead and hundreds injured.

What is the superstition about wearing blue in theatre? ›

This traditional superstition may be less adhered to in modern times, but it has its practical roots in early theatrical costuming. Blue was the most expensive colored dye, and blue garments were put on stage at failing companies to trick the audience into thinking the producers were affluent.

Superstition: Having three lit candles onstage is bad luck.

While it is adhering to the 'rule of three' having lit three candles on stage is considered bad luck. It is said that the person nearest to the shortest candle will be the next to marry, or the next to die.

don't walk under a ladder – they are bad luck because they are linked to gallows (the wooden frame for hanging people) say 'Bless you' when someone sneezes – this is to stop the Devil entering your body through your mouth. don't spill salt – salt was very expensive in Elizabethan times, so spilling it was very bad luck.

The Scottish Play. The Bard's Play. Macbeth is surrounded by superstition and fear of the 'curse' – uttering the play's name aloud in a theatre causes bad luck.

There is a superstition that bad luck will come to a person who places shoes on a table. A belief common in the North of England is that the tradition relates to the coal mining industry. When a miner died in a colliery accident, his shoes were placed on the table as a sign of respect.

published May 22, 2013. Plants like the crocus close their flowers at night, a behavior known as nyctinasty. (

Some experts suggest that this practice has been around for thousands of years. Possibly started to mark the burial sites of noteworthy individuals, it was also used in Ancient Rome to create a comforting environment in which the deceased's spirit could wander around the grave.

The most likely explanation for this behaviour is to protect the pollen. At night the insects that pollinate most flowers are dormant and closing the flower keeps the pollen dry and contained. Some flowers that are pollinated by moths or bats do the opposite and only open at night.