Chicago’s Manual Cinema brings The 4th Witch to Centennial Hall Oct. 31
Tucson, Ariz. – Handmade shadow puppets, actors in silhouette, and a live ensemble reimagine Shakespeare’s Macbeth across 65 haunting minutes of war, witchcraft, and vengeance. Using overhead projectors, practical effects, and multi-channel sound design, audiences experience a film created in real time.
Arizona Arts Live at the University of Arizona presents The 4th Witch, created by the Chicago’s Emmy Award-winning theatre company Manual Cinema, Oct. 31 at Centennial Hall. The collective returns to Tucson following their thrilling version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 2023. The 4th Witch will premiere at 2 p.m. Halloween afternoon at the University of Arizona with The New York Times calling it “a dark work, full of pain and loss, but the darkness lifts” and The Boston Globe certifying it as “powerful…you have the sensation that you’re seeing art in the process of being born.”
Inspired by elements of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, The 4th Witch offers a fresh perspective and explores themes of grief, war, generational conflict, and cycles of violence. When a young girl escapes a war-torn town, she flees into a dark forest and is apprenticed by a witch. As the girl’s powers grow, her grief and rage draw her into a nightmarish quest for vengeance against Macbeth, the warlord responsible for her parents’ deaths.
“In The 4th Witch we see conflict not from perspective of a newscast, a feed to scroll through, or headlines in a newspaper. We see the consequences and psychological reality of war through those left still to heal in its wake. These questions remain urgently relevant in today’s world. Stories like these can offer an opportunity to process difficult topics, together.” said Chad Herzog, Executive & Artistic Director of Arizona Arts Live.
Manual Cinema is an Emmy Award-winning theatre company, design studio, and film/video production company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Manual Cinema combines handmade puppetry, practical effects, cinematic techniques and innovative sound and original music to create immersive stories for the stage and screen. Any student can attend The 4th Witch for just $10.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Venue: Centennial Hall • 1020 E University Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Date: October 31 • 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: Students $10, General Admission starts at $29 • Tickets available at ArizonaArtsLive.com
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About Arizona Arts Live
Nestled in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, Arizona Arts Live curates extraordinary live events and arts experiences. A member of the Arizona Arts division at the University of Arizona, Arizona Arts Live brings the world’s greatest artists to Southern Arizona with programming that invites you to think. To feel. To discover thoughtful art and explore the unexpected.