FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-064

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 20, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps is a tragedy.

WHAT’S DONE CANNOT BE UNDONE

The first recorded performance of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, was on April 20, 1611 on the Globe Theater stage in London.

The play was written about 5 years earlier and likely performed privately for King James I, but the Globe performance is the first documented for the public.  The play is thought to have been written to impress the king with Scottish lore and witchcraft.

According to superstition, the name of the work is never spoken in the theater as the work is thought to be cursed because the first actor to play Lady Macbeth died suddenly during the first performance.

Macbeth was part of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623.

This bird’s eye view of London is by Bowen from 1753.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.