Loophole Abuse / Theatre

Loophole Abuse in Theatre.

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• Becomes a plot point in The Book of Mormon: two of the Africans ask Elder Cunningham where in the Book of Mormon it forbids sleeping with a baby or cutting off a woman's clitoris, which, naturally, it doesn't. So Elder Cunningham just makes up something.
• Happens twice in Shakespeare's Macbeth. When Macbeth confronts the witches about their prophecies in Act IV, the witches tell him that he will be safe 'until Great Birnam Wood marches to Dunisnane Hill' and that no man born of a woman can harm him. Macbeth, confident that neither of these events can take place (trees can't march, and all men are born of women) consolidates his rule and drives Malcolm and his forces into Great Birnam Wood. Malcolm's soldiers cut boughs from the trees to use as camouflage in their march on Dunisnane Hill, where Macduff (who was delivered by Caesarian) kills Macbeth.
  • In a modern-day Macbeth adaptation, Malcolm's gang breaks into Macbeth's compound by ramming a lumber truck through the gate.
  • Tolkien took his own jab at it by having the woods literally march over to take Saruman's tower, being living trees known as Ents, and for the Witch King which had a boast to be instead stabbed by a woman.
  • Yet another modern-day adaptation used the phrase "when pigs fly" and a police helicopter.
• Shakespeare went back to this well with The Merchant of Venice. By the terms of Antonio's loan agreement with Shylock, Shylock is allowed to take a pound of Antonio's flesh if Antonio can't pay off the loan. Once the bill comes due, Shylock demands his pound of flesh. But Portia, dressed as a man and pretending to be a lawyer, holds Shylock to the literal terms of the deal — he's entitled to a pound of Antonio's flesh, yes, but only a pound, not a microgram more, and only the flesh, not so much as a drop of blood. If Shylock violates either of these terms, he'll be killed. Since it's impossible to remove a pound of flesh without spilling a little blood, this defeats Shylock.
• Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark: infamously repeatedly exploited a longstanding critic tradition of not releasing a review until after opening night by labeling all of their productions as "dress rehearsals" - at full price. In fact, rumor has it that the producers intend to keep it in dress rehearsals its entire run and never formally open it.
  • Then again, there's no rule that says critics have to wait for opening night to review a show either—a fact many reviewers took advantage of when the official opening had been delayed one too many times. To say they were unkind would be a massive understatement.

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