Interview: Jay Painter on BATSU! Presents: GANBA!! (Edinburgh Fringe)
- Immersive Rumours
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
Image: BATSU! Presents GANBA!!
Cult hit BATSU! has been a Fringe favourite for several years now. A high-energy comedy game show in which comedians compete to avoid receiving creative and often painful punishments, it's the kind of late-night Fringe show that draws in a crowd who are game for anything, and has enjoyed huge success with permanent residencies in New York and Chicago and a sold-out run at the festival in 2025.
For 2026, the creative team behind BATSU! will debut GANBA!!, an energetic interactive ninja training show for families. Through sword training, physical comedy, martial arts, water fights and audience participation, young warriors will test their focus, agility, teamwork and courage through a series of hilarious challenges as they train to defeat the Batsu no Akuma (Spirit of Punishment).
Ahead of its Edinburgh Fringe run, we caught up with one of the show's co-creators, Jay Painter, to talk about expanding the world of BATSU!, creating an experience that puts families front and centre, and the spirit of encouragement that sits at the heart of GANBA!!.
Immersive Rumours: Hi Jay. Thanks for speaking with us today. Many Fringe-goers will already know about your late-night cult favourite, BATSU!, but this August you're bringing a brand-new family-friendly show to the Edinburgh Fringe. What can you tell us about GANBA!!?
Jay Painter: GANBA!! is an interactive ninja-training adventure for families. The audience enters the Batsudo Dojo and becomes part of the story, training alongside our characters through challenges built around focus, teamwork, courage, imagination, and perseverance.
The word ganba comes from a Japanese expression of encouragement. It carries the feeling of ‘You’ve got this’ and ‘Go for it!’. That spirit is at the heart of the show. It’s funny, physical, and very silly, but underneath all the chaos is the idea that people become braver when they encourage one another.
Immersive Rumours: What can audiences (both children and grown-ups) expect to be involved with once they step into the dojo?
Jay Painter: They should expect to do more than just sit quietly and watch! They’ll practice katana techniques, learn Japanese words and customs, compete in ridiculous challenges, encourage one another, and help defeat the mischievous Spirit of Batsu. Basically, they get to become demon hunters (though our mythology was around long before a certain movie!).
Of course, all the involvement is optional; if anyone wants to just sit back and enjoy the adventure, that’s totally cool too.
Photo: BATSU! Presents GANBA!!
Immersive Rumours: The show is built around the idea of families training together. What made that dynamic so appealing to explore?
Jay Painter: We loved the idea of the child not simply being entertained while the grown-up sits patiently beside them. In the US, when I was growing up, we had a show called Family Double Dare, where families competed as a team in silly and messy challenges. That was a big inspiration.
In GANBA!!, the children and grown-ups enter the same world and experience the adventure together. Sometimes the children get encouragement from the grown-ups cheering them on; then the next moment the child is shouting encouragement to the parent. The show gives them a shared victory rather than separate experiences.
Immersive Rumours: Where did the initial idea for GANBA!! come from, and how has the progress of developing it into the show audiences will see this Fringe been for you and the rest of the team?
Jay Painter: GANBA!! is an extension of the BATSU!! Universe. It comes from nearly two decades of seeing how strongly audiences respond when they are invited to become part of a live event rather than just observing it. As many of us grew older, became parents and teachers, and slightly more responsible humans, we began to think about what a BATSU!-style show would look like for families. My son has been begging for a “BATSU! for Kids” show for years!
However, we didn’t want to dilute BATSU! by making a cleaned-up, tamed-down version. We wanted to build a new experience around the qualities underneath the chaos: courage, commitment, play, resilience, and the joy of watching someone give everything they got to a ridiculous challenge.
Photo: BATSU! Presents GANBA!!
Immersive Rumours: Those who have been to BATSU! before will be aware that it’s not a family-friendly show. When developing GANBA!!, which elements of that show felt most important to carry over?
Jay Painter: Well, it depends on the family! We have lots of families who say they’ve never laughed so hard together than at BATSU! - adult families, of course; definitely not children.
For GANBA!!, we carried across the Japanese-inspired world, the relationship between performers and audience, the sense that anything might happen, and the belief that failure can be hilarious rather than humiliating.
The Legend of BATSU! is central to the story. That long, long ago, an evil spirit wreaked havoc across the land, until some very unlikely warriors discovered the ultimate weapon: Comedy. Their antics contained the spirit, and they sealed him within the Gong of Punishment. In GANBA!!, the Spirit’s energy leaks out into the dojo.
So yes, there are demon hunters, ancient evil, comedy, and heroic young warriors using their talents to defeat the bad guys. We just happened to get there about fifteen years before KPop Demon Hunters.
Immersive Rumours: BATSU! has been at Edinburgh Fringe since 2023. What have been some of your highlights from previous years at the festival?
Jay Painter: It’s been a real joy to watch it grow from a strange late-night show people were taking a chance on into a genuine Fringe tradition. Every performance has been incredible, but some of the most memorable moments are outside of the show itself, like seeing people wearing BATSU! merch on the street or someone recognizing us in our BATSU! cast jackets.
The sense of community among the performers and theater-makers in Edinburgh is extraordinary. For one month, the Fringe seems to exist on its own magical plane, and then it disappears again, and we all go back to being Muggles.
Photo: BATSU! Presents GANBA!!
Immersive Rumours: Finally, how are you feeling ahead of GANBA!! debuting, and what are you most looking forward to during this year's Fringe?
Jay Painter: We’re feeling pride, excitement, and of course the healthy amount of terror that comes with opening a new show. I’m most looking forward to the final moments of the show, when the entire audience has to work together. There is a point when children, parents, grandparents, performers, and complete strangers all shout GANBA!! as one enormous team. When that works, the room changes. For a few seconds, everyone believes they can defeat an evil spirit together.
And, oh yeah, Edinburgh is going to get a few hundred newly trained ninjas. That's going to be pretty cool...
BATSU! Presents: GANBA!! runs at Friesian at Underbelly, Bristo Square (Venue 302) from 5th to 16th August at 11:05. For more information and to book tickets, visit edfringe.com