Forget the gaudy get-ups, freak shows, tiny cars and over-the-top showmanship, because circus is being stripped back at a critically-acclaimed show on the South Bank.

A Simple Space by the Australian company Gravity and Other Myths is at the Udderbelly until July 6.

The winner of the Adelaide Festival’s Best Circus award, it promises world class acrobatics and circus in its purest form, with no artificial colours or flavours.

Seven performers – five men and two women – dressed all in white occupy a 6.5m by 4m mat with the audience just inches away as they form human towers and skipping ropes, swing from the rafters and showcase dangerous, bone-bending stunts.

Tickets cost from £12.50 at udderbelly.co.uk, on 0844 545 8282 or at the Southbank Centre box office.