Superstitious Barbers

Last night my partner performed at the opening night of a show she has been rehearsing for at least two months. It’s not a big commercial venture, just some friends getting together after work to be creative. For the cast though, come first night, it is a big affair and suddenly normally sensible people with sound minds become irrationally superstitious and fearful of becoming the victims of a wrathful god – which god in question always seems to vary – probably one of those particularly fickle Greek ones. My advice to anyone who is dating an actor, marrying an actor, or simply passing an actor in the street, is to be wary of everything you say.

The first rule is never say “Macbeth”. Most people will have seen the episode of ‘Blackadder’ where he takes great delight in terrifying the pretentious actors by uttering the most unlucky of words in the theatre. The belief is that it will bring tremendous bad luck on the show that the actors are performing in. Instead the word “Macbeth” must be replaced with the phrase, “The Scottish Play”. I was brought up by actors, and this rule applied throughout life, regardless of whether any of us was currently working on a show and even if we were hundreds of miles from a theatre.


Another rule which must not be overlooked is never say “Good Luck” – don’t ask me why but again there is a substitute, “Break a Leg”. Having done some research on the internet there seem to be loads of conflicting theories as to how this expression came about, with theories going back to gladiatorial days. One obvious theory is that if good luck equates to something bad happening, then breaking your leg being bad would mean the complete opposite would happen. I’m not sure about this. If that was the logic then we would just wish each other, “the very worst of luck” – so why ‘break a leg’? A theory I prefer, which dates back to the Shakespearean era, is that when an actor was applauded he would bow. The classic bow involved bending at the knee or “breaking the line” – which became breaking the leg. A similar theory is that when an actor’s performance was well received, the audience would “tip” by throwing coins onto the stage. If, on the other hand, the performance was disliked, the actors could expect to be pelted with rotten vegetables. In the case of the coin throw, the actor would have to bend down to pick up his extra earnings – “breaking his line”.

All of this has made me think about superstition in the workplace. I’m sure the arts are the worst for it as it’s a place for over exercised imaginations but they’re not completely alone. Barbers work with extremely sharp tools and that always means irrational fears being combated with superstitions. I was chatting with one of our barbers about razors and he told me of a time when he turned 15, and his parents bought him an amazing shaving kit – it was a coming of age gift. It had the badger brush, imitation ivory handled razor and beautifully smelling soap. He was then confused when his dad told him he had to pay for it. Asking how much, his father replied just a penny. The reason being that the gift of a knife or anything knife- like would sever the bond between the two people, so the gift had to be turned into a transaction. It sounds crazy to me but father and son are still close today.

I was also amazed to see how barbers handle their scissors. Rich was telling me how a new pair of scissors (which cost well into the hundreds) is never truly yours until they’ve cut you. Being so sharp they do tend to nick the flesh on your knuckles as you hold the hair. So the next time you’re at the barbers take a look at their knuckles. If they’re seasoned veterans you will see some scars and even scar tissue.

The subject of superstition is boundless and you can even argue that some traditions are really well observed false notions. For example do you know why we shake hands or clink glasses? – The original reason is a cracker going back to the age of knights…

So, let me know if there are any fascinating superstitions in your work place or home and I’ll tell you why we shake hands and touch glasses during a toast. Email me at pallmallbarberslondon@gmail.com and be careful not to walk under any ladders.


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