one4review | On 29, Aug 2026

Shadow Puppetry has been an art form since you could throw shadow puppets on a cave wall, but it isn’t one that gets too much of a look in at the Edinburgh Fringe. Fortunately, a perennial exception to that rule is the work of Mochinosha who have brought their excellent puppetry expertise with shows such as Space Hippo, Shadow Kingdom and Shunga Alert. The two-person company of Canadian Daniel Wishes and Japanese Seri Yanai make magic whenever they come together with their modern take on this ancient art.

Like all their work, Book of Shadows is a live shadow play, making use of projection and hundreds of beautifully illustrated drawings, often with hinged joints for arms or mouths or anything else the performers need to move. Narration and dialogue are provided by the performers, and Wishes in particular is more than happy to do a range of silly voices to help him jump between characters. Overall, the experience of a Mochinosha show gives you a feeling like you’re watching a living cartoon (or, due to the art style of the Japanese illustrator, an anime), complete with the fantastic visuals and colours.

Book of Shadows tells the story of talented but repressed Vi, who’s loving but overly skeptical father has drilled within her the belief that nothing outside of what can be scientifically observed exists. This is a bit of a problem for Vi because she’s always followed by a tiny wizard frog (called Tiny Frog Wizard) that only she can see and she doesn’t want to be considered delusional. When a crisis strikes her father, Vi is reluctantly sent off to stay with her Grandmother who may or may not be real-life Ukrainian mystic Madam Blavatsky and teaches classes in magic (with a k). As the story continues and the action ramps up, Vi will have to confront the big question – “is magic real?” Or perhaps the question is simply “what is reality?”

The previous shows I have seen from Mochinosha have been soundly aimed at a family audience which, given the visually impressive style of the performance and imagination-heavy stories with a cheeky sense of humour did seem appropriate. Book of Shadows, however, feels like a deliberate attempt to step away from this and into more “adult” territory, complete with a 14+ age rating. But, honestly, I didn’t feel that the tone had changed all too much minus a bit of bonus swearing and some light references to murder and cannibalism. What has changed however is that, not being set in as overtly a fantastical world as some of their other shows, all the action and imagery is a lot more grounded (shoot-outs on mega-yachts and invisible tiny wizard frogs not withstanding) with most characters being human and most settings being mundane houses and streets. This feels like a bit of a loss as the true power of the illustrations was how they could show audiences impossible things that you just can’t get on stage. As it is, this show could easily be turned into a show with human actors without the need for shadow puppets at all.

The core of the show is not really the story but an exploration of the practice and history behind gnostic magic, featuring many of the more famous practitioners of the craft, from Blavatsky to Aleister Crowley. The title “Book of Shadows” is more than just a pun, it’s a mission statement – it intends to be a primer for the uninitiated to a world of practical magic. However, at points these attempts to impart information through dialogue and narration make it feel more like an edutainment programme about how magic (with a k) works and this does rub a little bit against the enjoyment of it as a story.

The show is ambitious in its reach, but there’s no denying the level of skill and craft involved at every level. Perhaps I’ve become a little jaded having seen Mochinosha’s other shows, but even so there are parts of this one that shocked me with their cleverness and add to that the tongue-in-cheek humour, excellent score and tight pacing, this show remains a masterclass that anyone looking to do shadow puppetry should look to for their inspiration.

****
Reviewed by Tom
Underbelly Cowgate
Until 30 August