Writer: Virginia Woolf
Summerhall’s new Sauna Theatre, the biggest sauna in the UK apparently, is the unusual venue for a whole range of Fringe experiences this year, from a morning rave to a reimagining of Pictish rituals. I was intrigued, and chose a show themed around Virginia Woolf’s experimental novel The Waves, an experience that could only have been more multisensory if they’d served snacks.
The set-up (courtesy of the Sauna Sessions Arts Club) is brilliant: the large sauna structure seating up to 80 is flanked by a changing area with cubicles and lockers, showers and plunge pools, all tucked into a courtyard. Anyone unfamiliar with sauna practicalities need not worry: information is sent out beforehand about what to bring, and there are plenty of helpful staff on hand. Inside, the sauna features sophisticated light and sound systems, and three huge sauna stoves in the centre. For this show, Virginia Woolf’s novel is adapted into a poetic stream of consciousness, and the wonderful descriptions of sea and sky are prominent. I haven’t read the novel and am not familiar with the stories represented by the different recorded voices, but this felt like the aural equivalent of an impressionist painting. In fact, when I stopped trying to follow the narrative as well as notice the movement, scents and lighting, the experience became more immersive. Movement is provided by two ‘Aufguss Masters’, practitioners of a sauna art form involving intricate choreography of towels and fans, reminiscent of a toreador’s cloak or the ribbons of rhythmic gymnasts. Their motion around the space is quite hypnotic, creating different air currents and temperature changes, as well as wafts of scent when water and ice containing essential oils are placed on the hot stones.
The three ‘acts’ (separated by breaks for cooling off outside) could perhaps have been more clearly distinct, but maybe this is me, not knowing the novel, expecting more of a ‘story’. The intervals also felt a little too long, interrupting the momentum. It’s an invigorating experience though, probably best enjoyed by just sitting back, relaxing, and letting ‘The Waves’ wash over you.
Runs until 31 August 2026 | Image: Contributed
