Experience art and wellbeing together in a pop-up Sauna Theatre at Summerhall during the Fringe
The Edinburgh Fringe will host an unusual venue this summer: a pop-up Sauna Theatre installed in the rear courtyard of Summerhall. Presented as the UK’s largest sauna of its kind, the temporary structure is programmed to pair performance with the restorative heat of sauna bathing.
Audiences are invited to attend in swimwear, settle onto benches, and receive a blended experience that mixes storytelling, curated atmospheres and the physical sensation of warmth. The project is framed as both an artistic experiment and a wellness offering, aiming to create a different kind of communal theatre experience during the festival.
The initiative is the first production from Sauna Sessions Arts Club, led by co-creative directors James Grieve and Lucy Osborne. The pair have designed a varied programme that includes events ranging from relaxed literary salons to a morning-focused dance session described as a morning sauna rave.
The venue holds around 80 seats arranged in a horseshoe around stoves and will operate across Fringe dates in Summerhall’s courtyard. Ticketing information was released online: sales opened at noon on Friday at summerhallarts.co.uk, and tickets can also be purchased from May 6 at edfest.com.
What to expect inside the heated stage
At the heart of the programme is a series of curated sessions built around the Aufguss ritual, a practice the organisers describe as an immersive experience combining heat modulation, scent, movement and spoken narrative. Visitors will feel guided through temperature changes and aromatic infusions while performers or facilitators use towel techniques and storytelling to shape the atmosphere. The producers emphasise that these are staged events rather than conventional sauna sessions: the thermal environment becomes an active element in the dramaturgy, intended to heighten concentration, release tension and encourage social connection.
Aufguss: a working definition
The programme foregrounds Aufguss as a defining method: an orchestrated sequence of heat, essential oils and what the team refer to as towel work—the rhythmic waving of towels to move warm air—paired with spoken word or performance. This technique, familiar in parts of continental Europe, is adapted here as a theatrical device. Organisers explain that the method allows the body to be part of the narrative, so that each session functions simultaneously as a wellness ritual and as a piece of live art.
Highlights from the programme
The line-up includes several specially conceived pieces. One offering reimagines Virginia Woolf’s work as an atmospheric sauna piece titled Aufguss x The Waves, while another, Mysteries Of The Picts, draws on ancient Scottish tales to create a sense of myth within the heated enclosure. Other events range from intimate conversation-led salons to more playful formats such as the advertised morning sauna rave, which aims to combine gentle movement, music and the restorative qualities of heat. Each event is framed to exploit the unique intimacy and sensory focus that a warm, enclosed space can produce.
Design and audience setup
The temporary theatre seats about 80 people on curved benches positioned around central stoves, creating a close, horseshoe configuration that encourages communal focus. The producers note that this spatial layout is chosen to amplify the shared sensory experience while providing clear sightlines to performers and facilitators. Although this format is new to the UK, the team points out that purpose-built sauna-theatre venues already exist across Italy, Germany, Scandinavia and parts of eastern Europe; their aim is to invite UK theatre-makers to explore the form and to present homegrown work in a new physical context.
Reception and practical information
Summerhall Arts’ chief executive described the collaboration as bold and well matched to the venue’s appetite for innovative work, noting the appeal of combining cultural programming with a wellbeing practice. The response from the organisation has been enthusiastic and playful—captured in the rhetorical aside, “Where is my towel?”—that hints at the relaxed tone of the events. As an experimental Fringe offering, the pop-up hopes to attract both regular festival-goers and newcomers curious about the intersection of performance and physical wellbeing.
Tickets went on sale as announced: first at noon on Friday via summerhallarts.co.uk, with purchases also available from May 6 at edfest.com. The organisers encourage attendees to bring swimwear and an open mind, promising a programme that aims to combine the pleasures of heat and scent with compelling live work. For many, the project represents a fresh way to experience theatre—one that asks audiences to engage bodily as well as emotionally in the stories being told.
