“I have some of my filthiest, most fabulous friends from all over the world coming together to do what they do best in a way that no one has ever seen before,” Bernie teases.

A handsome hand balancer, a kinky contortionist, gender-bending aerialists and a fire-breathing femme fatale are among the debaucherous delights awaiting audiences at ‘Club Kabarett’.

Bernie says the show offers a full sensory cabaret experience, right down to the sensual set and setting.

“When you walk into the Meat Market, it’s a beautiful venue,” she says.

“We are transforming it into our very own Berlin cabaret club, a cross between the Berghain and the Kit Kat Club for the post-Weinstein era. It’s going to be a lot of red lights and thick haze, and we have my beautiful ‘haus’ band who are the beating heart of the show. The music is quite eclectic, but we have branded it ‘Weimar punk rock’.”

Bernie is the undisputed matriarch of modern cabaret. Her club shows are more than mere performance; they are a haven for the outcasts and outsiders. A place where polite social norms give way to an all-embracing celebration of everything that is weird and wonderful in the world.

“It always has been that and what’s always been really important to me is to create a space in the show where everyone feels safe,” Bernie explains.

“No matter who they are, where they come from or what they believe in, it is truly a safe space for everyone.

“You don’t have to identify with a minority, you can just be yourself. But everyone is welcome, and everyone is safe in our show, in the world that we create. It’s a beautiful thing. Safe, and sexy as hell,” she laughs.

Bernie sees cabaret as the ultimate artistic response to intolerance, a defiant middle finger to the seemingly inevitable resurgence of authoritarianism and oppressive ideals that haunted the 20th century.

“It’s an interesting way that history repeats itself, isn’t it?” Bernie says.

“Any kind of difference is being really threatened at the moment with a lot of political movements all over the world.

“There is a lot of scared people and scary things happening, so it’s more relevant now than ever. One of the man themes that we have at this show. . . Is the theme of connection, and how much people desperately need each other in this time.

“We are all being polarised and separated and torn apart more and more by what’s happening in politics and social media, and the way that we live now, it is really easy to become isolated and to think it’s either ‘us or them’, and there’s no grey area.”

Whether you’re a seasoned voyeur of the erotic arts or just cabaret-curious, Bernie Dieter’s ‘Club Kabarett’ welcomes everyone for an evening of divine intervention.

“That’s kind of what the show is about,” Bernie says.

“Just bringing people back together and reminding us that we are all human no matter what our differences – they are what actually makes us unique and beautiful. If we can find a way to connect in among all the madness, I think that’s what’s going to save us in the end, because we need each other, really.”

‘Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett’ is on at North Melbourne Meat Market 3 April-11 May.

This story originally appeared on our sister site, scenestr.