Sauna Theatre
One of the most talked about shows at the 2026 Fringe isn’t a show at all, it’s a new venue, the Sauna Theatre. There is absolutely no euphemism at work in that name: it’s a big sauna that is also a theatre, designed by the people behind Paines Plough’s iconic Roundabout venue and occupying its space at Summerhall while it’s getting a refurb. Like the Roundabout, it can be packed up – it’s hoped there will be future stops in Manchester and London.
With a capacity of 80, it’s built around three wooden tiers of seating, three massive sauna stoves, and the art of aufguss, a sauna ritual involving scented ice and elaborate towel flapping performed by ‘sauna masters’. This is Britain, so obviously you don’t go in naked: you need swimwear and a towel, both of which can be rented if you don’t have your own.
I won’t lie: I do not like saunas: I find the whole process of deliberately getting overly hot and sweaty faintly insane, and for that reason – and because I only saw two shows of its lively daily programme – I’m not going to do a traditional starred review here because one, I spent the whole time mildly bugging out, and two, I think judging some of this stuff out of five is a bit weird as to some extent I’d be rating the concept of saunas.
The main thing you need to know is that while the shows have a 90-minute-plus running time, you get turfed out every 12 minutes or so to cool down in very cold showers and a plunge pool. This stops you dying of sauna, although it made for...
