The curtain falls: Cabaret Mademoiselle prepares its last bow

On 20 July 2026, the curtain of Cabaret Mademoiselle on rue du Marché au Charbon will fall for the very last time, closing nearly nine years of shows, laughter, glitter and beautifully strange nights in the heart of Brussels. The team has chosen to end this chapter “with lucidity, dignity, gratitude… and the desire to celebrate until the very end.” For the city’s queer and alternative scenes, this is an immense loss: one of Brussels’ most beloved, daring stages is about to disappear, leaving behind memories, careers and an entire ecosystem of artists who found a home there.

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A landmark for Brussels nightlife

Since 2017, Cabaret Mademoiselle has been more than just a venue. Nestled on rue du Marché au Charbon, it became a key space for burlesque, drag, cabaret, sideshow and all kinds of hybrid performances that did not fit easily anywhere else. It offered a stage to artists who play with gender, bodies and norms, but also to musicians, comedians and performers who share a taste for the offbeat and the magical.

In a city where venues come and go quickly, the cabaret managed to build a strong identity: intimate yet bold, kitsch and poetic at the same time, deeply rooted in the local scene while constantly opening its doors to guests from elsewhere. For many in Brussels’ LGBTQIA+ communities, it functioned as a second home – a place to see yourself on stage, to bring friends discovering queer culture for the first time, or to disappear into the dark for a few hours of collective fantasy.

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Six last weekends, and a final grand farewell

The team has decided not to fade away quietly. Between now and 20 July, the cabaret will host six more weekends of programming: chances “to laugh, applaud, have a drink, discover artists and experience one last time the Cabaret Mademoiselle magic.” The climax will be the VERY LAST SHOWS op 16, 17, 18 and 19 July, a final bouquet of performances before the lights go out.

The full programme is available on their agenda, and if there was ever a time to finally go (or to go back), this is it. These last nights are not just dates on a calendar; they are part of a collective goodbye, a way for audiences and artists to mark the end of a chapter together, instead of learning months later that “it’s already over”.

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A wave of sadness in the performing arts community

The announcement hit hard across the cabaret, burlesque and drag scenes. Even artists who never performed there reacted with emotion. Burlesque performer Lara Volledig kamp wrote:

“La fermeture du Cabaret Mademoiselle me touche sincèrement, même si je n’ai jamais eu l’occasion d’y performer. Certains lieux comptent bien au-delà des artistes qui y sont passés. Ils font partie du paysage culturel, ils font rêver, ils rassemblent et ils permettent à la magie du spectacle vivant d’exister.
En tant qu’artiste burlesque, je sais combien il est important que des scènes comme celle-ci puissent vivre. Derrière chaque lieu qui ferme, il y a des souvenirs, des émotions, des artistes qui ont osé se mettre à nu… parfois au sens propre, mais toujours au sens artistique.”

Uitvoerder LaDiva Live added:

“Quelle triste nouvelle.
Merci pour votre travail extraordinaire.
Merci de nous avoir fait rêver.
Merci d’avoir donné une plate-forme à tant d’artistes.
Tout mon soutien.”

These messages say it clearly: Cabaret Mademoiselle counted well beyond its own stage. It was part of the cultural landscape, a place that made people dream, that gathered audiences and that allowed live performance to remain something fragile, risky, but very much alive.

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A golden book for memories

Before closing this chapter, the cabaret team wanted to leave space for the audience, too. On their “livre d’or”, people can share:

• A memory
• An anecdote
• A meeting
• A photo
• A few words, in any form

If Cabaret Mademoiselle has meant something to you – a first date, a friendship, a revelation, a night where you finally felt seen – this is a chance to put it into words and archive it as part of the cabaret’s collective memory. Because when a venue closes, it’s not only a stage that disappears; it’s a piece of emotional geography.

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The place closes, the spirit lives on

In their announcement, the team insists on one thing:

"Le lieu ferme. L’esprit du Cabaret Mademoiselle, lui, continue de vivre.”

That spirit is made of many things: a taste for risk, a love of performance, a refusal to separate seriousness and humour, and a deep respect for artists who “put themselves naked” – sometimes literally, always artistically. It will live on in future projects, collaborations, maybe one day in a new form of Cabaret Mademoiselle. A newsletter is already in place for those who want to follow what comes next.

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Thank you, Cabaret Mademoiselle

The KET team wants to say it clearly: thank you.

Thank you to all the people who made Cabaret Mademoiselle live with passion, audacity and generosity. Thank you for the nights where bodies and stories deemed “too much” elsewhere found a stage. Thank you for the care backstage, the glitter, the jokes, the tears, the technical mishaps turned into punchlines, the standing ovations and the quiet, shy claps from people who were maybe there for the first time.

This closure is an immense loss for Brussels’ queer and alternative scenes. But it is also a reminder of how essential these spaces are, and how much they deserve support while they are still alive. Let’s hope Brussels continues to make room for venues that dare to make us dream, surprise us and amaze us.

With all our affection and respect to the cabaret and its team.

KET Magazine is a community‑driven, non‑profit magazine run by volunteers based in Brussels. Get in touch to share your thoughts or tell us about your activities. You can also promote your events on our website or support our work with a donation. Contact us at Info@ket.brussels.