There is something slightly perverse about setting an alarm to go to a rave.
Admittedly, Morning Sauna Rave does not start until 10.30am, but during the Edinburgh Fringe that still feels positively dawn-like. A sunny walk across Edinburgh past Arthur’s Seat certainly helps, and by the time I am stripped down to swimwear and heading into the heat, the prospect of starting the day with music, steam and a cold plunge seems increasingly sensible.
This is my latest visit to Sauna Theatre, the extraordinary temporary structure occupying Summerhall’s rear courtyard, on the very spot where Paines Plough’s Roundabout was launched in 2014. Designed for 80 people, it is both the UK’s largest sauna and its first purpose-built sauna arts centre.
Having visited before, I remain impressed by just how professionally everything has been thought through. There are lockers, showers and cold plunge pools, while flip, flops are provided. Inside, natural light enters through rooflights above us. The DJ and, importantly, the electronic equipment, sit safely behind glass, protected from the heat.
It is clever, practical design, and one of the most interesting new pieces of temporary architecture at this year’s Fringe.
You really do not need to arrive laden down either. Sensible swimwear and a couple of small towels that will fit into a backpack and you are basically ready to go. It makes Sauna Theatre surprisingly easy to incorporate into a Fringe day. You can, quite literally, dip in and out.
Morning Sauna Rave is busier than the other sauna experiences I have attended and, unsurprisingly, much more music driven. The tunes begin chilled, but gradually the temperature of the music rises along with that of the room. By the end we are into much more recognisable, banging territory.
That progression is exactly right.
Periodically the music gives way to the Aufguss rituals. Essential oils, grapefruit and peppermint among them this morning, are introduced onto the hot stones before the international sauna masters begin their extraordinary towel work. Towels flip, twist and fly, sending waves of scented heat through the room. It remains impressive however many times I see it.
The official running time is 90 minutes, although changing at either end means the experience itself is effectively around an hour. And here I find myself wanting something that may sound completely contrary to the entire philosophy of sauna.
A clock.
The moment we enter, our phones and watches disappear into the lockers, and we become divorced from time. In other circumstances that might be rather wonderful. But this is the Fringe. Somewhere in the back of my mind is another show, another venue and another journey across Edinburgh.
A discreet countdown clock would actually allow me to relax more, not less. I could judge another ten minutes in the heat, five minutes cooling down, perhaps another plunge, without wondering whether the rest of my meticulously timed Fringe day is quietly collapsing outside.
I also wonder whether future versions might give the audience some influence over the musical curation. Part of the pleasure of an ordinary sauna is choosing the soundtrack to accompany it. Here the DJ necessarily controls the journey, but requests, audience choices or differently themed musical sessions could perhaps push the rave element even further.
These are refinements rather than significant complaints. The basic idea works.
Indeed, Sauna Theatre is increasingly convincing me that its greatest achievement may not be any individual production but the creation of an entirely new type of Fringe venue. Director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne developed it after studying sauna precedents across Europe and Asia, considering everything from airflow and heat to bench geometry and the audience journey. The resulting structure is modular and demountable, with ambitions to travel beyond Edinburgh.
That future seems entirely plausible.
The Fringe is normally about cramming more and more into your day. Morning Sauna Rave succeeds because, for ninety minutes, it persuades you to sweat some of the Fringe back out again.
No alcohol, no hangover, just music, essential oils, flying towels, cold water and a surprisingly energetic start to the morning. Bring it on!
Playing until August 31st 2026, https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/2026MORNING
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 14th August 2026
North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating:
Running time – 1hr 30mins