If you’re anything like us, it’s pretty likely that you’ve already blown your fun budget on festivals this Summer. But being stuck in London over August isn’t exactly a punishment – even if it might feel like one when you’re scowling your way through your mates’ latest ‘grams from foreign climes.

If anything, London in the Summer has charms that far outweigh endless days chilling by the beach. After all, who needs sun, sea and sand when you can have the Thames, theatre and tequila?! Of course, given the fluctuating weather in the UK over the past couple of months (perhaps those Extinction Rebellion guys are onto something after all…?!), you could always stay at home and pass the time on an online casino like mFortune. But if you’re happy to brave the elements and experience all that London’s Southbank has to offer, read on…

This August, Underbelly Festival at London’s Southbank is turning up the heat with a series of cabaret, circus and variety acts. With acts like Roundhouse Presents (1-4 August), “boylesque” evening Club Briefs (1-3 Aug), and the ever-popular Cocoa Butter cabaret (exclusively starring the best of the capital’s leading performers of colour – 22-25 Aug), the festival provides something for everyone at the heart of London’s embankment.

Further cabaret highlights include Another F*cking Variety Show (8 Aug) – a late night date with Lili la Scala and her glittering cavalcade of Cabarati, and Spice Gals – a drag tribute to the greatest girl group of all time (15 Aug). Bringing down the curtain as the climactic headline act is grown-up circus-cabaret Rouge: a decadent blend of sensational acrobatics, operatic cabaret and tongue-in-cheek burlesque. It is a non-stop celebration of the astonishing, the surprising and the downright sexy, receiving its London premiere after critical acclaim in Australia and direct from a hotly anticipated UK debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (28 August – 15 September).

And, if oogling cabaret guys and gals doesn’t pique your fancy, don’t worry: there’s also live music galore in the shape of mass karaoke-ers The Massaoke Band (16 Aug) , sumptuous string fiddlers Bowjangles (19 Aug), and many more to enjoy.

Last but certainly not least, 80 Days: A Real World Adventure is an interactive urban adventure game played around Southbank – with tickets available from now until September via the Underbelly Festival website.

For more information, please visit: www.underbellyfestival.com