Mysteries of the Picts
Sauna Sessions Arts Club
Summerhall
6–31 Aug (not 18, 25)
August 2026
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
27
28
29
30
31
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2
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5
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
18
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
25
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
12.00
1
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Smoke, scent and steam conjure the sweathouses of ancient Scotland and the mysterious painted Picts who gathered there. Traditional sauna rituals invoke our legendary ancestors who congregated in the dark of underground shelters to summon spirits and tattoo each other with magical symbols. In the warmth of our modern-day sauna theatre, stories emerge like hazy memories in Highlands mist and the mysterious symbols and vanished kingdoms of the Pictish slowly reveal themselves. A show about how sauna rituals can connect us with traditions that history forgot, forged in heat and steam.