The Sound Tracks Festival on the East London Line

Enjoy a day of great music throughout East London during the Sound Tracks Festival. Not only will a great variety of bands be playing at venues such as Dalston Roof Park, The Geffrye Museum and the Brunel Museum, but you can also listen to live music on the East London Line as you travel between venues. Wristbands, which allow entry to all the festival venues, are £15. 11 May

The Richmond May Fair

Head to the pretty green at Richmond for a traditional May Fair, which features craft stalls, a vintage carousel and all-day entertainment. Don’t miss the crowning of the Richmond May Queen, or the dancing around the Maypole! Entry is free. 11 May

The Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham Stadium

Combine rugby and fancy dress at the Marriott London Sevens, which is known for its carnival atmosphere. Not only can you watch a series of exciting short matches throughout the weekend, but there’s also live entertainment and competitions galore. This year’s fancy dress theme is ‘safari’, so dig out your adventure gear and animal costumes! Tickets are £25. 11-12 May

The World on Regent Street

Regent Street will be pedestrianised for this free one-day festival, which features entertainment and activities from around the globe. Visitors can enjoy Argentine tango lessons, Trinidadian steel band music, Chinese drumming and much more. All of the street’s shops will also be open – perfect for some retail therapy. 12 May

The London Burlesque Festival

Be dazzled at the glitzy London Burlesque Festival, a ten day extravaganza of burlesque and cabaret that takes throughout London. At this international festival, which is the largest of its kind in the world, you can see everything from the best of home-grown talent to the biggest stars of ‘boylesque’. Event times and ticket prices vary – see the festival website for full details. 10-19 May

More London events

Last night’s London Burlesque Festival opening was a glamorous affair attended by media, the general public and stars of the UK and international burlesque stage.

The sumptuous Café de Paris is a great venue for this sort of event and the evening got off to a saucy start with, quite appropriately, a lingerie fashion parade. Announced by Bond Girl burlesquer Agent Lynch, the retro-styled Bettie Page collection by festival sponsor Secrets In Lace was modelled by a series of burlesque beauties.

Next up was the Red Carpet Rollout – where the festival’s top performers were introduced by the husky-voiced host, Ivy Paige. It was a nice touch and a tantalising taste of things to come. Despite the volcano situation, this year’s festival will feature artists from Antwerp to Australia, New York to NZ and, of course, the best of British burlesquers (including Visit London-featured Kiki Kaboom).

Impressive acts in the first half included festival organiser Beeby Rose from Amsterdam, who fluttered our feathers with her red and gold parrot. Then there was Bristol lass Bettie Bottom Dollar, whose Charlie Chaplin burlesque was my favourite act of the evening. We also had some fire eating, or rather fire licking, and unzipping (!) from hot Italian Miss Honey Lulu.

Part two featured a swing dance strip by Missy Fatale and Ben from Swingcopation. And there was Equador the Wizard‘s magic boylesque with a Queen soundtrack, plus Perth trio Sugar Blue Burlesque with their “cherry mambo”… cherry ripe!

It’s only just begun and I can’t wait for the rest of the delights in store as London Burlesque Festival week continues.

On Saturday night, I glammed it up for a evening of cabaret, comedy and burlesque at Wam Bam Club in the West End.

Wam Bam is a weekly event, held in the sumptuous surrounds of Café de Paris. For those who haven’t been, the venue is a Grade II listed building that opened in 1924 and retains all of its Art Deco opulence. The staff add to the luxe feel – whisking away coats and ushering us to our table with a flourish, then continuing to be solicitous but not intrusive all evening.

The club was set up cabaret style with tables of two to six, and exclusive banquette seating on one side. They had carefully arranged each table so all diners had a good view of the stage. As did the non-dining guests, who filled up the first-floor balcony areas.

Wam Bam’s lineup, led by the vivacious Lady Alex, was a mixed bag. My companions and I loved retro dancers Cirque de la Rouge, were impressed by Craig the Hula Boy’s skills, enjoyed Missy Malone’s burlesque, and laughed lots at Jack Whitehall’s stand-up routine – he’s definitely one to watch. Some of the other acts were rather flat, and my companion felt we could have seen a few more faces on the bill, but it was a good mix in general.

While we were entertained, we enjoyed a three-course meal. The food won’t be winning any Michelin stars, but is perfectly decent.

The Wam Bam crowd was a mix of birthday celebrations, hen nights and people up for a bit of razzle dazzle in the West End. Once the show was over and meals finished, the tables were swiftly moved away so guests could throw some shapes on Café de Paris’s magnificent dancefloor. A steady stream of crowd-pleasers from the 80s ensured we didn’t sit down for long.

At £75 for the 3-course meal and show, Wam Bam isn’t cheap, but it’s a top night out in a wonderful venue, right off Leicester Square. Turn up early, and you can attend a free burlesque lesson before the show, led by Lady Alex!

Visit London has heard that auditions are currently underway to  recruit a new batch of cabaret talent. Any performers out there who think they’ve got what it takes should get in touch with Lady Alex ASAP to arrange an audition. Check out www.wambamclub.com for details.

And, don’t forget, next week’s London Burlesque Festival kicks off at Café de Paris. I, for one, can’t wait!