"Break a leg!"...Wait what?

Actors are a superstitious bunch...

"Look, I'm sorry I said 'good luck' ok!?"

Ok, I give up! I've been involved in amateur theatre most of my adult life, and there is one thing I simply don't understand:

WHY SAY 'BREAK A LEG' BEFORE A PLAY!?!?

Seriously, think about it. That is the LAST thing you want anyone to do when they go on stage. No one has ever come out of the theatre and said 'Yes I enjoyed the show, but I would have enjoyed it more if the entire cast were on crutches!' No director has ever walked into the changing rooms following a play, ranting that there is no one on their way to A&E after the performance. So why say it?

'Good Luck...'

"I said is again didn't I?"

Some people are superstitious. I can understand that. A bit. I am not. I have a black cat, I walk under ladders and I think walking on the cracks in the pavement is awesome. If anything, I'm the opposite of superstitious.

I happen to know that historically at least, actors and theatre types are superstitious people. I'm not defending it. I just happen to know that this is a fact. The wonderful scene in Blackadder: The Third where the two actors explain to Blackadder why they go through some silly ritual when anyone mentions Macbeth speaks to emphasize this point. Again it, to me, doesn't defend it. I merely explains it.  Or gives another crazy example of acting superstition (Why can't I say Macbeth near a theatre? Is Shakespeare's ghost watching me?)

One superstition at a time though eh? So, why break a leg? Why not 'fracture an arm?' Or 'rupture a spleen?' Or why not just plain simple 'GOOD LUCK?!?!?!'

Now, despite appearances to the contrary, I am a level headed person. What I question is blind parroting of the same 3 words with no concept of why. Obviously, it is intended to convey good fortune to the actors about to go onto stage. Yet the question of why we use this phrase baffles me. So, over the next couple of posts, I'm going to look into this. I'd like to start with the phrase in theatre. When was this phrase first associated.

Defend the indefensible

In a 1921 edition of "New Statesman", Robert Wilson Lynd talked about this curious phrase in terms of theatre in his article 'A Defence Of Superstition'. He described theatre as the second-most superstitious institution in England, after house racing. In horse racing, wishing 'good luck' is also considered unlucky, so people were encouraged to say something horrible, like 'May you break your leg' which in horse racing I'd assume is a far more likely occurrence than in theatre. Though he didn't directly link the phrase to actors and performers, could this be the first link?

In no uncertain terms, Edna Ferber's 'A Peculiar Treasure' which detailed her fascination with the theatre appears to be the first written evidence linking to theatre this strange phrase. To quote, she believed that ' ...all the understudies sitting in the back row politely wishing the various principals would break a leg' which is nice. Bernard Sobel writes in 1948 linking this more directly to the subject matter. In his book The Theatre Handbook & Digest Of Plays, he records actors using this term as saying 'good luck' was bad luck.

It is my opinion that this goes deeper than that. Next time I write, I will trawl deeper into the subject matter, hopefully uncovering some more insights into this strange phenomenon...

Chris is part of Codsall Dramatic Society, who meet once a week at Codsall Village Hall, Wednesday 7:30pm. Like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter for more amateur theatre news and views in Codsall.

"A Defense of Superstition". The Living Age 311. 1921. p. 427. As published in The New Statesman, 1 October 1921.

Ferber, Edna (1939). A Peculiar Treasure. Doubleday, Doran & Co. p. 354.