October 1, 2025 | Theatre,

Recapping Macbeth in Preparation for The 4th Witch

In order to best experience Manual Cinema’s The 4th Witch this October, you’ll want to be up to speed on your Shakespearean background. Fear not! We’ll break it down act-by-act, indicating where Manual Cinema rewrites the story and what to look out for.

ACT I

The story begins with Macbeth, a Scottish general fighting bravely for King Duncan. After a victorious battle, he and his fellow captain Banquo stumble upon three witches in the forest. They deliver a prophecy: Macbeth will rise as Thane (aka Chief or Military Nobleman) of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and eventually King of Scotland.

He’s already Thane of Glamis. Soon after, he’s named Thane of Cawdor. The prophecy is starting to seem eerily real. To become king, however, Macbeth would have to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth thinks her husband lacks the guts to follow through, so she pushes him to act.

ACT II

Haunted by doubt, Macbeth sees a vision of a floating dagger guiding him to Duncan’s room. Taking it as a sign, he kills the sleeping king. Lady Macbeth covers their tracks, framing Duncan’s guards for the murder. By morning, Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland.

ACT III

As king, Macbeth should feel triumphant. Instead, he’s consumed by paranoia, especially about Banquo. The witches predicted Banquo’s descendants would inherit the throne. Macbeth arranges for Banquo and his son, Fleance, to be murdered. Banquo dies, but Fleance escapes. At a royal banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair, and he unravels in front of his guests while Lady Macbeth struggles to maintain control.

ACT IV

Desperate for reassurance, Macbeth seeks out the witches again. They give him three riddles:

1. Beware Macduff.
2. No man born of a woman will harm Macbeth.
3. He won’t be defeated until Birnam Wood marches on Dunsinane.

Macbeth takes precautions. He orders the massacre of Macduff’s family. Meanwhile, Macduff joins King Duncan’s son, Malcolm, to raise an army against him.

ACT V

Lady Macbeth is consumed with guilt. She sleepwalks, endlessly scrubbing her hands to remove imagined blood. Soon after, she dies offstage—presumably by suicide.

Meanwhile, Malcolm’s army advances, carrying branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage Macbeth, clinging to the witches’ prophecy, prepares for battle.

In the final duel, Macduff reveals he was not “born of a woman” in the usual sense: he was delivered by C-section. The witches’ words were true, but twisted. Macduff kills Macbeth.

Enter Manual Cinema!

That’s the story you know. But The 4th Witch invites us to see it anew. Rather than retelling the centuries-old play, Manual Cinema imagines a story within the story: a young girl orphaned by one of Macbeth’s battles is adopted by a woman in the forest. You guessed it! This woman is one of the witches who delivers his fateful prophecy. And thus, the 4th little witch joins Shakespeare’s original three. Want even more of a recap? Check out this video on our Instagram!

Catch The 4th Witch on stage at ArtsEmerson from October 30 – November 9, 2025.