UK’s first purpose-built sauna theatre to debut at Edinburgh Fringe

Sauna Sessions Arts Club, a new company created by director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne, has announced plans to open the UK’s first purpose-built sauna theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Sauna Theatre, the company’s first project, will be the UK’s largest sauna and the first that’s been purpose built to showcase theatre, art and culture.

Part of the Summerhall Arts’ 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, Sauna Sessions Arts Club will operate its sauna theatre during August 2026.

It will bring together a programme of theatre, music and aufguss, featuring performances from some of the world’s greatest sauna masters.

A theatre-grade sauna space

“Sauna Theatre will be a platform to showcase the world’s greatest Aufguss artists, develop the skills of emerging UK talent, as seen at the recent UK Aufguss Championships, and introduce Aufguss to a whole new audience,” said James Grieve, co-founder and co-creative director, Sauna Sessions Arts Club.

“This is an opportunity to take aufguss and sauna rituals out of the spa environment and attract new, more diverse audiences from different communities and varied socioeconomic backgrounds.

With an 80-person capacity, Sauna Theatre will share a programme that introduces sauna as a space to tell stories, taking audiences on magical journeys.

As well as a daily ‘Set For The Day’ sauna session there will be morning sauna raves and sessions with two different international Aufguss masters daily.

The sauna will have state-of-the-art lighting and surround sound, creating an immersive theatre grade space.

Heated up to 90°C, audiences will change into swimwear to experience Sauna Theatre. The theatre will be surrounded by cold plunges and showers, will suppliers still to be announced.

“Sauna is experiencing a boom in the UK – the number of public saunas has doubled year-on-year since 2018,” said co-founder and co-creative director, Lucy Osborne.

“As more people seek the exhilaration and relaxation of heat, Sauna Sessions Arts Club is a way of introducing state-of-the-art theatre sauna, ancient rituals, smoke, scent and steam to a wider audience.

“The sauna environment increases endorphins and encourages bloodflow – all helping to heighten audiences’ senses and creating an immersive experience. The building is modular, demountable and portable meaning Sauna Theatre can – and will – be popping up around the UK.”

Throughout August, Sauna Theatre will reside in Summerhall’s rear courtyard. Summerhall Arts is a charity dedicated to supporting and nurturing the arts at its year round arts centre in Edinburgh.

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