Le Birgit Kabarett — Opus #7

The company invents a free and resolutely alive form, written in sync with current affairs. Performed by four actresses and singers, two mistresses of ceremonies and two musicians, this seventh opus is part of the tradition of "documented" theatre, where reality is observed and transformed to better be brought into play. Short scenes, songs and games with the audience follow one another. From fiery rallies to the hushed corridors of power, the performers depict with humor and bite the whole political sideshow : figures, mannerisms, posturing, contradictions and bickering are acutely revealed.

Le Birgit Ensemble thus sketches a sensitive and subjective portrait of our times, between burlesque and satire. Laughter becomes a shared space to look reality in the face — a skillful blend of provocation, lucidity and fantasy in the service of a delightful session of collective catharsis.

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!

Around the show

Tactile tour of the stage (FRI. 02 APR.｜19h30) Explore the set and the world of the show ahead of the performance, thanks to a tactile tour of the stage, specially designed for blind and visually impaired people.

Book exploration of "On ne peut plus rien dire" by Thomas Hochmann (WED. 7 APRIL｜18h30—21h30) In partnership with Peuple & Culture

Duration 3h

Price 8€

Booking recommended

La Maison des Métallos, in partnership with Peuple & Culture, invites you to a collective reading workshop around the book On ne peut plus rien dire. Liberté d’expression : le grand détournement by Thomas Hochmann, published by Éditions Anamosa in March 2025.

To hear most political leaders tell it, to push back the far right, all that would be needed is to take good measures, to improve people's lives. They are gravely mistaken. While essential and necessary, the substance of policies pursued seems to matter far less than how they are presented and commented on ; the best policy in the world weighs very little against the wide dissemination of remarks that manipulate facts, sow division and encourage discrimination. The urgent task is therefore to protect, at last, the essential condition of every democracy : the free discussion of public affairs, with respect for others, and on a shared factual basis.

Indeed, through an incredible reversal, every effort to protect democratic debate is today mocked as an attack on "freedom of expression". As soon as a champion of the "national" camp is subject to a sanction, or even just contradicted somewhat vigorously, he laments : "We can't say anything anymore…" This complaint of the newly censored stretches all day long on television news panels. Any contradiction is denounced as an aggression, the fight against racism is presented as a mark of "woke" intolerance. Let a judge timidly dare to recall that a news channel cannot devote its airtime exclusively to far-right propaganda, and a wave of indignation instantly erupts against "censorship", that "symbolic guillotine".

Yet hatred and lies seriously damage democratic deliberation. This is why restrictions on public expression, far from being in contradiction with freedom of expression, are consubstantial with it.

The "freedom of expression" brandished by reactionary movements, which covers all manipulations and all aggressions, is a trap. True freedom of expression is exercised within a framework that notably excludes hate speech, without ever hindering public debate.

In a brisk style accessible to all, this book reveals how the far right has seized on freedom of expression to better distort it. Facing the mountain of works denouncing wokeism and censorship, it shows how to reclaim this fundamental freedom, after having recalled and defended, with examples to back it up, the laws prohibiting hate speech and disinformation campaigns. For their implementation now constitutes our sole and last chance to push back the far right.

Le Birgit Kabarett #6 ; Credits : Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Le Birgit Kabarett #6 ; Credits : Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Le Birgit Kabarett #1 ; Credits : Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Le Birgit Kabarett #1 ; Credits : Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Le Birgit Kabarett #1 ; Credits : Christophe Raynaud de Lage