EDINBURGH 2026: Review: BOOK OF SHADOWS, Underbelly
Book of Shadows runs at Underbelly until 30 August
Book of Shadows is a new occult mystery featuring 400-500 shadow puppets. The two performers sit with light boxes and the individual cut out puppets are layered over the boxes to create giant shadows to tell the story.
The precision is genuinely mind-blowing. The two performers are wonderfully in sync and the planning that goes into this is so impressive. Vi is a young girl who occasionally sees a small frog wizard. Her father tells her there is no such thing as magic but it's a different story when children with ties to the occult are being kidnapped.
Vi is sent to stay with a grandmother she hasn’t seen since she was little and she encounters a bunch of other children with magical links. There’s a lot of humour in the script and its a pretty fun show but it feels like it overstays its welcome. The story stagnates in the middle but it's still cool to watch thanks to the intricate puppets.
There’s a lot of potential with Book of Shadows and the artistry is incredible; it's just let down a little bit by the plot.
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