Macbeth

Macbeth is a famous tragedy by the Muggle playwright William Shakespeare. The play is well-known in both the non-magical and wizarding worlds, and it holds a particular reputation in theatrical circles for being unlucky or “cursed.” While performed by Muggles, it is also staged by witches and wizards, with at least one known performance organized to benefit a wizarding institution. Its inclusion in the series illustrates a point of cultural overlap between the two worlds.

The play is mentioned on two separate occasions in the original novels, demonstrating its presence in the cultural consciousness of the wizarding community.

• Discussion of Unlucky Plays: In 1993, while in the Gryffindor Common Room, Ron Weasley references the play during a conversation with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. While writing a History of Magic essay on goblin rebellions, Ron remarks on the famous Muggle superstition that the play Macbeth is unlucky, and suggests that a play about a goblin who cornered the gold market would be even worse.
• Charity Performance in Godric's Hollow: On Christmas Eve of 1997, Harry and Hermione see a poster advertising a wizarding performance of Macbeth in Godric's Hollow. The poster noted that all proceeds from the performance would be donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. This confirms that the play is actively produced within the wizarding community for wizarding audiences.

The superstition surrounding Macbeth, which exists in the real Muggle world, is also present and acknowledged in the Wizarding world. Ron Weasley explains the wizarding version of this curse, stating that disasters have occurred during productions of the play because witches and wizards in the audience got involved in the performance. According to Ron, this interference has led to calamitous results on stage, cementing the play's unlucky reputation among theatrical groups.

• The belief that Macbeth is a cursed play is a genuine, long-standing superstition in the real-world theatrical community. Actors often avoid saying the play's name inside a theatre, referring to it instead by euphemisms such as “The Scottish Play” or “The Bard's Play.”
• J.K. Rowling incorporates this real-world superstition into her fictional universe, providing a magical explanation for its origin: the curse is not inherent to the play itself, but is a result of magical people meddling with Muggle productions.