Review: THE 4TH WITCH at Oz

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Everyone who follows the world of theatre is familiar with the Scottish Play by William Shakespeare, even if they’ve never seen or read it. Arguably, the most iconic part of the show is any scene involving the three witches. They deliver the most memorable lines, such as “double double, toil and trouble,” and they have shaped how witch covens are seen in pop culture. Ever since the play’s debut (private) performance all the way back in 1606, the witches have been depicted differently in various productions. Some productions display the witches simply telling Mr. Scottish Play their little prophecy, while others like the one I did back in 2022 show the witches being even more involved by assuring that the prophecy comes true. Another key difference in various productions is the inclusion or removal of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and the leader of the witches. No matter how many times this show has been done, there is no shortage of retellings and interpretations. Running at Oz Arts Nashville June 4-6, Manual Cinema’s The 4th Witch is one retelling of Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy that’s nothing short of magical.

Manual Cinema is an Emmy-winning performance collective, design studio, and film and video production company from Chicago that was founded in 2010. Their works mainly feature puppetry. Prior to the opening night performance of The 4th Witch, I was familiar with their work in the 2021 version of Candyman. Because the protagonist was an artist from Chicago and art was a theme in the script, various Chicago artists created artwork for the movie. Manual Cinema was asked to create shadow puppetry for flashbacks scenes and the haunting end credits, which still disturb me to this day. The company was founded by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. With The 4th Witch, Manual Cinema retells the Scottish Play by changing the time period to WWII and introducing a new character. She may not be Hecate, but one could argue that she’s a combination of the goddess and Macduff, the one who defeats Mr. Scottish Play. Yes, I’m refusing to mention the actual name in this review. Deal with it. Anyway, the titular character uses the classic story to weave a coming-of-age tale of trauma and revenge.

As soon as I took my seat, the setup intrigued me. You’ve got the overhead screen displaying a live recording of the shadows being shown on the sheet, you’ve got Lighting Designer David Goodman-Edberg’s elaborate setup, you’ve the tables of props and headpieces, and you’ve got a small space for the trio of musicians. The flawless layout of everything made me eager to see it play out. The selling point is the puppetry, which was designed by company co-founder and director Drew Dir. From the characters’ silhouettes to a red mushroom, every puppet is so detailed. The character puppets match perfectly with the performers, who often have to stand between the light and the sheet to do some things that you just can’t do with shadow puppets. Costume and Wig Designer Sully Ratke brings the silhouettes to life, and I must applaud the attention to details. Other than the visuals, the audio is also a delight. An orchestra sits off to the side of the stage, consisting of Erica Kremer on the cello, Lucy Little on the violin, and Alicia Walter on the piano. The musicians also provide the haunting vocals, and I find it fitting that the orchestra contained three women, which is the minimum needed for a coven. Company co-founders Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter provided the score and sound design, which added the perfect layer to the chilling atmosphere. Every design element is enough to enchant the audience. 

Like how a coven needs at least three members in order to function, a puppet show needs the right puppeteers. Five talented artists take turns positioning the puppets and performing in front of the sheet. Jeffrey Paschal plays a soldier and Mr. Scottish Play, and he adds a delightful shade of menace to every scene he’s in. Despite his scary presence, he was nice to talk to after the show, and he asked if I wanted to test out some of the props in front of the sheet. Lizi Breit brings this warmth to the character of Mother, and it was sweet seeing her interact with her family. The same can be said about Leah Casey, who played Father and who looked good in a fake mustache. I was impressed by how both Casey and Briet were able to mirror both the Lead Witch as her fellow witches and the titular fourth witch as her own fellow witches later on in the story. Co-founder Julia Miller played the Lead Witch, who captures the classic essence of a witch from a fairytale. Miller’s body language was solid from beginning to end. She also designed the silhouette masks, which included the Lead Witch’s nose and Mr. Scottish Play’s gas masks for the actors. This detail impressed me a lot. And finally, we have co-founder Sarah Fornance as the titular fourth witch, who is referred to as “Girl” in the program. I was blown away by Fornance’s performance. Her physical acting was incredible, but I was also entertained by her facial acting and her comedic timing. She delivered as someone who goes from a scared child to a fearsome witch. It was truly bewitching.

Before I conclude, I wanted to mention something that happened right at the start of the show. We weren’t even a minute in when a voice said that there was a technical difficulty and the show would resume shortly. Thankfully, the problem was resolved almost immediately, and the show ran smoothly. After the technical difficulty announcement was made and the house lights came up, I said to those around me, “Alright, which one of you said the actual name of the Scottish Play?” A teacher in front of me admitted that she did it, and she joked about having to walk backwards in order to reverse the curse. Fortunately, there was no need for that.