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Manual Cinema’s The 4th Witch

Manual Cinema’s
The 4th Witch

Wednesday, March 31
7:30 p.m. in Stewart Theatre
$30-35 | $25 Faculty/Staff | $10 NC State Students

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Single tickets for our Mainstage Season on sale September 3, 2026.

Told through breathtaking shadow puppetry, Manual Cinema’s latest theatrical experience is an inversion of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The 4th Witch showcases their Emmy Award-winning mix of low-fi technology (think vintage overhead projectors and handmade puppets), cutting-edge multimedia techniques, and rapturous live music. 

“The 4th Witch is pure magic… a theater experience unlike anything else. Fly, don’t walk, to see this show.”

City Paper

Post-Show Puppet Playtime

Stay after the show for an interactive, hands-on playtime with Manual Cinema’s award winning puppets!

Orphaned by war, a young girl is rescued by three witches, who agree to take her on as an apprentice on the condition that she must never use her powers for revenge. The girl comes to realize that it was the warlord Macbeth who killed her parents – and that she must choose between reconciliation or vengeance.

Manual Cinema performers wearing props and working with projectors. Photo by Charlie Doyle.
Manual Cinema won an Emmy Award for The Forger, a documentary short produced by The New York Times. Photo by Charlie Doyle.

Show Details

  • Run time is 65 minutes.
  • Recommended for ages 12 and up.
  • Performance includes loud sounds, flashing lights and theatrical haze.
  • Content explores themes of grief, war, generational conflict and cycles of violence.

Connect with the Company

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Accessibility

NC State LIVE strives to make our programming accessible to everyone. If you have an access need or an accommodation request, please email Liza Green, director, at [email protected]. Learn more about accessibility at NC State LIVE.

It Takes a Village

NC State LIVE is supported in part by grants from the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. Our State Magazine is our official media sponsor.