Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Channel
Wet Hands
Genre: Immersive, Live Music
Venue: The Cubicle at Buccleuch Place at Assembly George Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Gentle audience participation and skilled musicianship offers a welcome oasis
Review
An ambient soundscape and collective listening experience for relaxing time at the fringe.
The Cubicle venue is a little hard to find in comparison to the main Assembly venues. Circling George Square Gardens, I ventured behind a large building, down some steps and then around the corner to find the shipping container, feeling like I’d made a secret discovery in the festival. A quiet, relaxing space away from the bustle of queues, crowds, and food trucks.
We passed fake flowers on the outside walls before a long, narrow room. It is an intimate space for an immersive experience. As we entered, we were each given soft brown envelopes and a small pamphlet about what to expect in the session
Our facilitator welcomed us all to the space with openness and invited us to take our shows off and relax. We all made ourselves comfortable across the cushions, floor seats, and benches. At our own pace, we were led to the three sound prompts within our envelope. Each envelope’s contents are different. Mine invited me to consider how the sounds I will hear have travelled to get to our location.
The experience is as much visual as it is auditory. Bowls of water moved to the musical vibrations beneath the changing coloured lights integrated into the ceiling. I could feel the occasional deep bass notes through the floor. I found myself wishing these moments and the idea of feeling the sounds as well as seeing and hearing them, were explored more frequently.
Led by creator Jack McGuire and designed by Itohan Edoloyi, Channel is a meditative experience where the music evolves throughout the session. The soundscape is gathered from previous shows as well as the sounds created by the current audience through the microphones dotted about the space, a gentle and optional audience participation. McGuire makes an impressive technical set of laptop, keyboard, focusrite and midi controllers look effortless as he constantly develops the composition of live electronic music. The effect of this soundscape is also heavily dependent on the audience. When I went, the group were content to relax and bathe in the sounds. It’s exciting to see a show knowing that each time you see it, it truly will be different the next time.
Lying on the floor of the small venue, where most of us have our shoes off, I couldn’t escape thinking that a little incense would go a long way in completing the atmosphere. However, this sonic experience is still one to highly recommend seeing. If you have not been to a deep listening session before, this one is a great place to begin.
Channel is part of Dutch Kills Theatre Company’s wider programme of performance at the Fringe. After a hectic day at the fringe, it offers a welcome oasis, a chance to enjoy a sensory treat as you step out of the noise and join a gathering. The intimacy is central to its appeal. Channel succeeds in doing something the Fringe rarely allows: permission to do absolutely nothing, to listen and to be.
