Award-winning company Mochinosha / Book of Shadowz returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Book of Shadows, a brand-new shadow puppet comedy at Underbelly Cowgate. Mixing occult mystery, handcrafted shadow animation and dark humour, the production follows sceptical teenager Vi and her supposedly 200-year-old mystic grandmother through séances, conspiracies and supernatural mischief.
By Grace Hatchell, writing from a highly unofficial séance circle somewhere suspiciously near Tracy Island
I’ve only just realised summat while rummaging about in the satchel.
Last delivery was puppets too.
First came Venus and Adonis fluttering in with all its theatrical wizardry and glorious moving magic… and before the puppet strings have barely stopped swaying, along comes Book of Shadows creeping out of the darkness with shadow creatures, mystics and enough spooky nonsense to make my bicycle bell ring by itself.
I’m beginning to suspect the satchel has developed a type.
And honestly?
I’m not complaining one bit.
Because puppets — proper theatre puppets — have always had a strange sort of power over me.
Maybe it’s nostalgia.
Maybe it’s craftsmanship.
Or maybe it’s because somewhere deep in my soul lives a small Yorkshire child who still thinks Thunderbirds was peak civilisation.
And I’m sorry, but I’ve spotted similarities.
Puppets?
Tick.
Mysterious figures pulling strings?
Tick.
Dramatic entrances?
Tick.
People operating extraordinary worlds behind the scenes?
Double tick.
F-A-B, my loves.
Only this time we’re swapping Tracy Island for séances and replacing Thunderbird 2 with shadow puppetry and suspicious government agents.
Honestly, Edinburgh Fringe never lets me down.
Book of Shadows arrives at Underbelly Cowgate this August courtesy of award-winning Japanese company Mochinosha / Book of Shadowz, and it sounds gloriously bonkers in the very best way.
The story centres on teenage sceptic Vi, who is forced to move in with her grandmother — a woman claiming to be none other than the 200-year-old mystic and spiritual guru Madam Blavatsky.
Now my own gran mostly specialised in tea and tactical guilt.
This one appears to come with occult powers and potential conspiracy links.
When Vi’s friends begin mysteriously disappearing, the unlikely pair find themselves investigating séances, strange cultists and government agents who seem just a little too interested in what’s going on.
And if that doesn’t sound like Fringe fuel, I don’t know what does.
But here’s where Grace gets properly intrigued.
This isn’t ordinary puppetry.
Oh no.
This is shadow puppetry.
The sort that makes your eyes squint suspiciously while your brain mutters, “Hang on… how did they do that then?”
Founded by Canadian writer and puppetry artist Daniel Wishes alongside Japanese artist and director Seri Yanai, Mochinosha / Book of Shadowz have spent years perfecting their wonderfully cinematic style of handcrafted shadow animation.
And the theatre world has noticed.
The company has picked up awards across the globe, from Orlando Fringe to Japan and Edinburgh itself, earning praise for productions that blend visual artistry with mischievous storytelling.
Now then.
Can I say summat mildly controversial?
Sometimes shadow puppetry feels more cinematic than actual cinema.
There.
I said it.
Because shadows do something clever.
They don’t show you everything.
They let your imagination wander about and do half the heavy lifting.
A silhouette tilts.
A shape emerges.
A shadow stretches across the stage.
And suddenly your own brain starts collaborating with the show.
That’s magic.
Or magick, perhaps — with a “k” — which this production appears delightfully committed to.
The company describes Book of Shadows as a visually stunning dark comedy where audiences are invited to draw their own conclusions about mysticism and belief.
And honestly, I quite like that.
No heavy-handed answers.
No wagging fingers.
Just mystery, humour and enough theatrical smoke to keep us guessing.
The critics have already fallen under the spell.
ThreeWeeks Edinburgh called the company’s work “theatre at its best,” while Everything Theatre praised their “mind-blowing shadow puppetry skill.”
And I can see why.
Because whether it’s Venus and Adonis whispering through Shakespearean puppetry or Book of Shadows sneaking through candlelit silhouettes, the satchel appears to be sending me a message this week.
Puppets are having a moment.
And frankly?
I’m here for it.
So count me intrigued.
Count me slightly suspicious.
And count me fully prepared to spend sixty minutes peering into the shadows wondering whether there’s a puppet master backstage, a mystical conspiracy unfolding… or Jeff Tracy quietly running the whole operation from behind a curtain.
F-A-B indeed.
Book of Shadows plays Underbelly Cowgate’s Big Belly from 5–30 August (excluding 19 August) at 6.30pm. Running time is 60 minutes, suitable for ages 14+, with tickets from £14.
underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/book-of-shadows
| edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/book-of-shadows
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