Born in Köln and raised on her grandmother’s stories of a travelling East German circus, Bernie Dieter has become the undisputed queen of punk cabaret. A songwriter, performer and provocateur, she was the first female MC of Olivier Award-winning La Clique and created the world-touring Little Death Club before dreaming up Club Kabarett. Equal parts Marlene Dietrich and Frank-N-Furter, she can wreck a room with a filthy joke and a torch song in the same breath.

Über-award-winning superstar Bernie Dieter and her menagerie of misfits and mischief-makers are returning to Sydney for a strictly limited season of Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett from 8 October to 8 November 2026 at Carriageworks.

Led by punk kabarett provocateur, Bernie Dieter, this show plunges you into an immersive night at a secret Berlin club. Featuring Bernie’s immense vocal talent alongside her hot live haus band, and showcasing a dizzying collection of the most exceptional artists in the world, from hair-hanging to fire-breathing, unique gender-bending aerials to toe-curling contortionists, this is a night out you will never forget.

During the season, I caught up with Bernie to talk filth, fashion and freakery, and what makes her blend of cabaret special enough to convert the cabaret nay-sayers.

Alex Creece: Hey Bernie! Thanks so much for chatting today! To start off, can you tell us about your unique brand of punk cabaret? I’m especially interested in the intersection of circus sideshows and so-called freakshows.

Bernie Dieter: Cabaret has always been a home for the weirdos and outsiders of society. We celebrate the freakshow, and we want to blow people’s minds. In our show, we want to showcase the best artists in the world doing what they do best – whether that’s swallowing swords or setting their tits on fire. Or having a beautiful, strong, masculine man in beautiful six-inch heels dancing on a pole.

We’re proud of difference, in the things that make these beautiful artists unique. By fully celebrating them onstage, we also give the audience permission to do the same. We’re all weird and wonderful creatures, and that’s the heart of the show.

Image: Michael Aiden

AC: Touching on some of those acts, what can folks expect at Club Kabarett, and how have you expanded upon this over time?

BD: I’m very lucky to have lots of talented friends. I meet people in all kinds of weird and wonderful places: dive bars, festivals, back alleys. Often their talents are seen in small venues, and I wanted to give them a big stage with high production value and a full live band.

Berlin cabaret has always kind of been at the heart of what I’ve done and what has inspired me. You know, I’d stumble into the Berghain [nightclub] and come across a lot of naked people in a toilet cubicle or something like that. I wanted to give the audience that feeling in a more accessible way.

This show is the most ambitious yet, combining cabaret with fire-breathing, sword-swallowing, aerials, contortionism and gender-bending art and more. We have an avant-garde drag artist, Iva Rosebud, who does a messy striptease – I won’t give any more away! – and there’s a live band, lights, haze, nudity and lots of gin!

AC: What would you say to someone who has a specific idea of what to expect from a cabaret show?

BD: It’s not the sort of cabaret where someone is crooning on a cruise ship, or singing showtunes! This is a punk rock gig, with raw energy in the room. It’s also very much a conversation between us and the audience. No seat is safe, in the best possible way. It’s a vibrant and politically relevant experience. We go to places that push boundaries, but I’ll be holding your hand the whole way!

AC: Can you tell us about the space as inspired by the “dens of iniquities” of the Weimar Republic?

BD: A beautiful part of cabaret is its social commentary and satire. German cabaret is especially political.

The Weimar era was really when German cabaret was born, and that was a scarily similar time to what we are experiencing right now with the rise of far-right politics and views. People on the fringes of society – queer people, sexually liberated women, anyone considered ‘abnormal’ – were ostracised and forced to hide. But when they arrived in a cabaret club, people felt safe and celebrated to have a platform to express themselves.

Cabaret provided a space to stick a big middle finger up at the world outside. Its joy was an act of rebellion. We’ve really tried to capture this in the show now because, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we really learned from history. We need that spirit again, and for people to come along and feel good about humanity.

Image: Jacinta Oaten

AC: That’s gorgeous. Do you feel like the need for genuine queer filth and freakery has grown more urgent over time, with the rise of fascism?

BD: This is a slight tangent, but… as much as we have come forward a lot as humans, there’s sadly still a lack of understanding and empathy in the world.

In the last few years, since Covid first hit, I think people are lonelier and more scared, and we’re living in a world that wants to polarise us. Social media is a hostile place to be, and we’ve lost some of our ability to connect with each other as humans. We’re looking at our phones, looking at each other as stereotypes, and not seeing that person across from us.

We all love and we all feel: that’s the heart of Club Kabarett. It’s a plea for connection, and an antidote to isolation that makes us angry and afraid. So, I think there’s a strong need to remember the humanity that connects us, now more than ever.

AC: You’ve been compared to Lady Gaga, Marlene Dietrich and Frank-N-Furter – what a combo! Who would you say your influences are?

BD: Oh, I have so many! David Bowie, Kate Bush… honestly, people who are not making art for others, but are just telling their stories their ways. I’ve always been hugely inspired by people who are uniquely themselves.

I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time when I was eight. My parents had filmed it off German TV, and when I’d watch it, they’d come in and stop it before the orgy scene in the pool. So until I was about 11, that’s where I thought it ended. Then one day I was watching alone and discovered this whole new ending… which just blew my mind. So, Frank-N-Furter is obviously my all-time favourite comparison. A dream for me.

AC: Can you tell us a bit about the fashion choices in the show? I’m interested to know the thought process into selecting garments for different bits to create the intended impacts on the audience.

BD: Costume and fashion are such an important part of storytelling! I love to work with different designers. For example, the opening song is all about connection, and I wear a Discount Universe catsuit with lots of handprints on it. Then I go out into the audience and get them to put their hands on me and stroke me. So, the fusion of the fashion, physicality and movement all works together to bring us into the space together.

There’s a song later in the show where I wear a dress that says, YOU WILL NEVER OWN ME, and a beautiful cape I made that says, MY BODY MY CHOICE. So, I really try to use the fashion there to state a plain message about reproductive rights, about the horrific overturning of Roe v. Wade, and about the rise of accepted misogyny.

Fashion has always been the ultimate form of self-expression, so it plays a huge role in the show.

AC: I thought I spotted some Discount Universe garments in the press photos I saw! Love them!

BD: They’re incredible! I’d wear them every day if I could!

Image: Cam Grant

AC: Do you have any advice for young performers-slash-freaks wanting to explore the expansiveness of cabaret?

BD: Just get out there and embrace it! This can feel daunting, but it’s truly a beautiful scene, and you’ll be welcomed with open arms. Find yourself a club night somewhere, and go talk to people. Get your drag on, get your face on, and get out there.

AC: In a time where queer identities are increasingly ingratiated into capitalist structures, how can queer folks reclaim their freak from oppressive and commodifying forces?

BD: If you surround yourself with beautiful, like-minded humans who are going to love you and support you regardless of what month it is, then you know that you’re in the right place. But also, if you’ve got to take a corporate gig, make sure you get that money, honey!

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett is on at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh,
from 8 October to 8 November 2026.

Book here.

Image: Ven Tithing