SHUNGA ALERT Comes to Edinburgh Fringe in July

Gumbo and Book of Shadowz will present Shunga Alert at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 - the adults only comedy-documentary about sexual culture in Japan.

Join Mame the aspiring artist, and his misfit friends, Pleasure the sex doll and Pain the AI virtual idol, as they embark on a quest to create the sexiest shunga of all time. Told through clowning and shadow puppetry, Shunga Alert is filthy, offensive and visually stunning. Strictly adults only - you have been warned!

Translating to “spring pictures”, shunga is a form of traditional Japanese erotic art that was popular during the Edo period of Japan. Portraying explicit sexual scenes and intimate moments, shunga were a celebration of sexual expression at odds with the country’s contemporary conservative values.

These scenes are brought to life in Shunga Alert with the projection of intricate handmade creations in the Ukiyoe (traditional woodblock) style, while the story is told through hilarious physical theatre and clowning as the live actors interact with the scenes on screen. Shunga Alert plunges into a world of fetish and sexual deviancy, uncovering everything you wanted to know about sex in Japan but were too afraid to Google.

Presented by Theatre Group Gumbo and Book of Shadowz of Mochinosha Puppet Company, Shunga Alert premiered at the San Diego Fringe Festival in 2024 and won the Best of the Fest award.

Established in 1994 by Kayo Tamura and now based in Osaka, Japan, Theatre Group Gumbo has performed original works in 47 cities across 13 countries. The theatre troupe has been recognised with numerous awards from Fringe Festivals across the world, including the Critic’s Choice Award (Edmonton International Fringe Festival, Canada), Best of the Fest (San Diego Fringe Festival, USA), and Spirit of the Fringe and Artist’s Pick (Colchester Fringe, UK).

Lauded for their high energy shows and grotesque pitch-black comedy, you can see more of Gumbo in Are You Lovin It? at ZOO Venues.

Mochinosha was founded in 2012 by Canadian artist Daniel Wishes and Japanese artist Seri Yanai. The company is known for its use of hundreds of intricate handmade shadow puppets to create live analog shadow animation and has been recognised with awards from festivals around the world, including Critic’s Choice (Orlando Fringe, USA), Outstanding Production (Suginami Theatre Festival, Japan), and Jury’s Choice Award (Edinburgh Fringe, UK).

Enjoy more shadow puppetry from Mochinosha and Book of Shadowz in Space Hippo, an epic Sci-Fi adventure, 12:30 at Underbelly, Big Belly 31 July - 24 August.

Shunga Alert will open on Thursday 31 July and run through to Monday 24 August, daily at 21:40 (except 12 & 19 August) at Underbelly Cowgate, Big Belly.

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