Giedrė Šlekytė becomes the first female music director of the RSNO while Summerhall’s ambitious Sauna Theatre brings performance into an 80-seat sauna
The Scottish arts landscape has two eye-catching developments: the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) has appointed Giedrė Šlekytė as its next music director, and Summerhall Arts will host a bold new venue called the Sauna Theatre during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Each story signals a different kind of change—one institutional and orchestral, the other experiential and site-specific—but both underline a willingness to innovate in how audiences encounter music and theatre.
These announcements sit alongside an expanded Summerhall Arts programme and the launch of a new presenting company.
The appointment and the Sauna Theatre share an ambition to refresh long-standing practices: the RSNO through leadership at the podium, and Summerhall through the blending of performance, wellness and communal ritual inside a purpose-built sauna.
The RSNO appointment and what it means
Giedrė Šlekytė has been chosen to take up the role of music director at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from the beginning of the 2027/28 season. Her selection follows an invited return engagement after she conducted Mahler’s Symphony No 1 with the orchestra; earlier in the same cycle she recorded with the RSNO in Scotland’s Studio, a step that helped convince leadership she was the right person to lead the ensemble forward. The appointment is notable both for Šlekytė’s artistic profile and because she will be the first female music director in the orchestra’s history.
The change at the top also recognises continuity: incumbent music director Thomas Søndergård will move into the role of music director emeritus, a title that acknowledges his long service and impact, and marks the 18th year since his debut with the orchestra. That transition aims to combine respect for Søndergård’s legacy with a clear signal that the RSNO is preparing for a new era under Šlekytė’s leadership.
Sauna Theatre at Summerhall: concept and creators
The Sauna Theatre is a collaboration between director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne, founders of the Sauna Sessions Art Club, who previously developed touring projects such as Paines Plough’s Roundabout. The pop-up will occupy Summerhall’s rear courtyard during the festival and has been described as the UK’s first purpose-built theatre sauna and the country’s largest standalone sauna venue. It holds roughly 80 people and will be heated to approximately 90 degrees Celsius, aiming to merge the physical effects of heat and steam with live performance to create heightened audience immersion.
Programming, rituals and audience guidance
The Sauna Theatre offers a varied programme: from morning sauna raves to literary salons, dance, club nights and ritualised Aufguss sessions (an immersive practice combining essential oils, towelwork and guided storytelling). Performances are planned as short, concentrated pieces—around ten minutes per act—to match the practicalities of being in a hot environment, while beverages and cold plunge pools will be available outside the hot room to aid recovery and hydration. Practical rules have been set: the venue requests swimwear only (no normal clothes), bans nudity typical of some Scandinavian saunas, and even recommends sauna hats as part of the experience.
Highlighted shows and production ambitions
Among the works announced are a sauna-friendly reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves and a refreshed staging of Nick Cassenbaum’s Bubble Schmeisis, alongside new plays and debut works from established names such as Shaparak Khorsandi. Summerhall’s season announcement expanded the venue’s offering to 81 shows in total. The creators describe the Sauna Theatre as modular and potentially tourable beyond Edinburgh, combining experimental programming with a design that can be adapted for other sites.
Why these announcements matter
Both stories signal experimentation: the RSNO is making a high-profile leadership choice that will shape its artistic direction from the 2027/28 season, while Summerhall Arts is testing how environment and well-being practices can reframe audience attention. Together they illustrate two complementary trends in contemporary arts—institutional reinvention and sensory-led presentation—each attempting to broaden who attends and how art is felt and understood.
For audiences, these developments offer new reasons to engage with Scotland’s cultural calendar: orchestral change at the RSNO and a radically different theatrical setting at the Sauna Theatre invite both long-term and immediate forms of participation, promising fresh experiences for music lovers and festivalgoers alike.
