Why peacock feathers are taboo backstage

Theater professionals will handle real fire and flimsy rigging, but bring a decorative bird feather into the room and they will lose their minds. The superstition stems from the 'eye' on the peacock feather, which was historically viewed as the 'evil eye' that curses productions. In reality, it’s just a great excuse to blame a bad opening night on a piece of poultry.