Sauna Theatre – Edinburgh Festival

Our peaceful Cedar Hus sauna settings offer heat, steam, nature and tranquillity, with a few lovely people to share the bench with – but only a few other people.
The explosion of the pop-up 80-seater Sauna Theatre onto the world stage that is Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a sensory feast worthy of an outing.

Drawing from theatre, arts, and sauna cultures around Europe, the venue offers a spectacular array of sauna experiences throughout the day and into the evening – it’s a fantastic opportunity to experience a different kind of sauna.
My friend Gilly had never experienced Aufguss and she was awed by the sensory explosion of the International Sauna Masters session. The sauna masters blend storytelling, music, acting and infusions of delicious steam – distracting you from the intensity of the heat and taking you on an immersive sauna journey. The UK is fairly new to the Aufguss scene but Deborah Carr is nurturing a team of Aufguss practitioners and there are several practising in Scotland. Should we bring some of this drama (in miniature!) to Cedar Hus?
The facilities are great with little beach hut changing rooms, cold showers and a plunge if you fancy. There are lockers to keep your things safe and hair dryers for the end. You can hire towels, and rummage for a cossie if you need one.
I’m going back for more but can’t decide what to try next! Rave in the sauna, an immersive history lesson around the Picts or gentle meditations plus much more. Well done and thank you to the pair that conceived of this ambitious idea, and brought it brilliantly to life, Lucy Osbourne and James Grieve. Look out for this amazing sauna popping up somewhere near you in the future!
If you’re looking for an excuse to enjoy Edinburgh, and sauna, in a different way head straight to the sauna theatre at Summerhall.