The 4th Witch − Concept and direction by Drew Dir; Devised by Dir, Sarah Forance and Julia Miller; Original score and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter; Mask Design by Julia Miller; Lighting Design by David Goodman‑Edberg; Costume / Wig Design by Sully Ratke. Presented by Manual Cinema at the Robert J. Orchard Stage, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington St., Boston, through November 9.
By Mike Hoban
Manual Cinema has once again returned to the ArtsEmerson stages with their unfathomably unique brand of theatrical storytelling with The 4th Witch, a mind-bending work “inspired by” Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Told via shadow puppetry using live actors blended with silhouette cutouts beamed onto a movie screen by overhead projectors, the action is augmented by a haunting score played by a live ensemble with vocals. As the action is being projected onto the screen, the audience can simultaneously watch the actors and technicians dart around the stage to produce the images, while the three-piece ensemble (cello, violin, and keyboards), placed at the front of the stage, plays and sings.
The 4th Witch is not so much a retelling of Macbeth, and not only because it is completely devoid of dialogue. Instead, the work simply borrows the play’s characters of Macbeth (imprinted on the silhouette character’s military uniform) and the three witches, and makes references to some of the Scottish Play’s greatest hits (a floating dagger, a crown, and multiple shots of blood-stained hands) while ignoring most of the narrative. The 4th Witch is set in a French Village during World War I, where a young girl (Sarah Fornace) loses her home and family during a bombing raid. After crawling from the wreckage, she is pursued by the bloodthirsty Macbeth (Jeffrey Paschal) into the forest, where she is saved by a witch (Julia Miller), who takes her under her wing and teaches her the craft. She learns to ride a broom, make hallucinatory soup from magic mushrooms, and gains mystical powers − all of which she will need to avenge the killing of her parents and the destruction of her village at the hands of Macbeth. The plot gets a little muddled at points, and seems to veer into what one imagines is a commentary on the military-industrial complex, but as happens often with Manual Cinema productions, a lucid narrative is secondary to the artistry.
And what artistry! The blend of mesmerizing vocals and instrumentation by the musicians is otherworldly, and some of the special effects created by the puppeteers (especially the exploding bombs, created entirely via silhouette) are wildly clever. The precise timing of the performers as they race from projector to live screen while changing costumes and masks to create the live action is mind-boggling, and also as much fun to watch as what’s appearing on the screen. The only problem lies with trying to decide what to focus on − the story on the screen or its creators.
Manual Cinema has established a wildly enthusiastic fan base in Boston (including this reviewer), having previously visited the ArtsEmerson Paramount Theater in 2018 with Ada/Ava, a dark New England Gothic story; 2019’s The End of TV, a look at the friendship between an older woman sliding into dementia and her younger counterpart; and an imaginative retelling of Frankenstein in 2023. The shows typically sell out, but ArtsEmerson has extended this run until November 9th, but tickets appear to be going fast. For more information and tickets, go to: https://artsemerson.org/events/the-4th-witch.
