Nadja Maleh is one of the most recognizable voices in Austrian cabaret. She has been on stage as an actress, singer, and cabaret artist for 30 years, and since February, she has been opening a new chapter with her new solo program 'Zuckergoscherl'. We met her for an interview.

schauvorbei.at: Where did the idea for “Zuckergoscherl” come from and how was the program created?
Nadja Maleh: My programs are always created from topics that I am currently engaging with intensively. For “Zuckergoscherl”, I initially wanted to take a closer look at my own relationship with sugar. I was interested in: What actually controls us? What is free will? What is habit? But for me, sugar is much more than just a food. It stands for pleasure, reward, seduction, comfort and at the same time for excess, dependency and destruction.

In the broadest sense, it is about the sweetness of life, about love, relationships, and the question of what we reach for when we want to treat ourselves. I am not a nutritionist who goes around the country wagging a finger, but there is a small enlightening impulse in my programs. And in any case, I am always my own first research project. For a few months now, I have been living on a low-sugar diet, which is almost sensational for me. I even bake small muffins without sugar. I wouldn't have believed myself earlier that I would ever say something like that (laughs).

schauvorbei.at: The program is about beautiful packaging and what is inside. Is “Zuckergoscherl” also a piece about appearance and deception?
Nadja Maleh: Absolutely. I am very interested in this “sugar coating” – the glossing over, the wrapping of something bitter in pink paper. This happens constantly, especially in politics. Things are linguistically packaged in such a way that they sound more harmless or friendlier than they actually are. This is a highly exciting topic because language is never innocent. Of course, we all beat around the bush sometimes to spare someone. But there is a clear line between careful phrasing and deliberate deception.

schauvorbei.at: How socially critical is your new program?
Nadja Maleh: I am socially critical in all of my programs. But I work very precisely and attentively, word for word. I am interested in making different aspects visible and raising questions. Whoever just wants to laugh for two hours is very welcome to do so. But anyone who wants to listen more closely and think along can do that too. Humor may be light, but it can also have depth.

schauvorbei.at: When do you know that a program or an idea is ready for the stage?
Nadja Maleh: That is actually an inner feeling. Usually, an idea comes first and then I wait to see if it stays with me. Some ideas seem great at first, and two weeks later I think: Please, no! Others simply don't disappear. When I have finally written and rehearsed, you eventually feel: Now this baby is ready to go out. And then you feel a new feeling again, because you only understand some things on a stage in dialogue with the audience.

schauvorbei.at: You have created more than 25 fictional characters over the course of your career. Which ones stand out particularly in “Zuckergoscherl”?
Nadja Maleh: My characters often have something archetypal about them. After the performances, many people tell me that they know someone exactly like that (laughs). In “Zuckergoscherl”, Professor Huber is there again, an ancient, wonderfully eccentric professor, as well as Aunt Melanie, a kindergarten teacher with little common sense but all the more joy for life. New is a Hungarian nutritionist with advice that nobody wants to hear.

Furthermore, I delve into the history of sugar – with all its political and historical abysses such as power, exploitation, and the slave trade. Musically, there is an ode to Nutella, the Italo-schlager “My Little Cantuccini”, a fast-paced hormone medley, and even a bit of belly dancing. It is a very multifaceted evening and at the same time more personal than many of my previous programs, with more stand-up and more Nadja than ever.

schauvorbei.at: What does the mix of acting, singing, stand-up, and characters mean to you?
Nadja Maleh: That is simply my way. I realized early on that this is exactly where my style lies: in the connection of music, transformation, and comedy. At the beginning of a career, you first look for your own form. For me, it became clear relatively early on that I can tell a lot through characters and songs. In “Zuckergoscherl”, my own voice is now added even more strongly.

schauvorbei.at: Why is humor more important than ever these days?
Nadja Maleh: Because humor makes you happy. And because we all urgently need breaks from this overstimulated, overheated, and nerve-wracked world. Laughter is not trivial. It is a form of relief, sometimes even of salvation.

schauvorbei.at: What is allowed in humor today that wouldn't have been possible in the past, and vice versa?
Nadja Maleh: Every era has its own rules, its own sensitivities, its own boundaries. As an artist, you grow with them. There were phases in which I certainly worried, for example around debates about cultural appropriation, because I live from transformation, from characters, from changes in perspective. But in the end, it is always about the attitude behind it. Acting is not automatically devaluation just because you portray someone else. The intention, the precision, and the respect are decisive. At the same time, an enormous amount has changed for women on stage. When I started, the image of women in cabaret was much narrower. Today, I see many more different female voices, temperaments, and energies, which I think is great.

schauvorbei.at: The Austrian cabaret scene is still considered male-dominated. Why is there a need for more female perspectives on stage right now?
Nadja Maleh: Because women are half of humanity and should naturally be represented everywhere, including on stages. Men and women live on the same planet, but often in very different realities. We have different experiences, different challenges, different perspectives, which is exactly why these perspectives are needed. Women do not do “women's cabaret”, we do cabaret. Just as men do not do “men's cabaret”. But, of course, every person tells their story from their own experience. And especially in times when violence against women, crossing boundaries, and femicides are so present, it is all the more important that women make their view of the world audible. At the same time, men are needed who take responsibility and stand by the side of women. It is not about against each other, but about together.

schauvorbei.at: How do you experience the cohesion among female cabaret artists in Austria?
Nadja Maleh: There is a lot of respect and understanding for one another. Anyone who chooses this path, or has chosen it, knows how hard, rocky, and persistent it can be. Colleagues often understand exactly what you are going through because they know the same hurdles. This cliché about catfights has nothing to do with my experience at all.

schauvorbei.at: You also offer mindfulness courses. How do mindfulness and humor go together?
Nadja Maleh: I try not to kick down in humor and not to hurt anyone unnecessarily. Of course, you are allowed to provoke. Humor always crosses boundaries, breaks taboos, and is sometimes explosive. But that is precisely why you have to know exactly what you are saying and how you are saying it. For me, mindfulness does not mean walking through life on eggshells. It means perceiving boundaries, my own and those of others. I am mindful in how I use language, in my work, in protecting myself, and in the question of who I let into my life at all.

schauvorbei.at: Have there been any writing or creative blocks in your artistic life? And if so: How did you get out of them again?
Nadja Maleh: Of course there are moments when things aren't going well, but I have learned well over the years how I function. When I notice that I am resisting, becoming tired or grumpy, then I don't force myself to do anything. I leave myself in peace. And when the impulse comes, I sit down and work.

schauvorbei.at: This summer you will be on stage at the Berndorf Festival. At the same time, you are leaning more towards the theater again. What attracts you to it?
Nadja Maleh: In summer I look forward to the ensemble, the colleagues, working together, and a funny play. Theater has accompanied me for decades; I am a trained actress and originally come from there. For my solo career, I had to concentrate all my energy on cabaret for a long time, but now there is a stable basis for it. This allows me to tackle other projects again and return to my origins. New challenges appeal to me, also because as you get older, you feel more strongly that life is limited. That's why I also trained as a mindfulness coach. I love working with people and exploring life. And in theater, especially in comedies, you also make people happy, because those who laugh forget their worries for a moment.

Thank you for the conversation!

This is what “Zuckergoscherl” should give the audience to take with them:
Many new impulses, sore laugh muscles, and a light, spirited feeling

My advice to my younger self:
Hang in there, everything will be fine!

What makes my life sweet:
Funny conversations with friends

Off stage I am:
Always me

I live by this motto:
Seize the day!

Vienna
April 12: Stadtsaal
April 23, May 17, June 9, Sept 26, Oct 7, Oct 12: Casa Nova
June 21: Tschauner Bühne
Aug 20: Theater am Spittelberg
Oct 22: Kulisse

Lower Austria
April 10: Litschau, Kulturbahnhof
April 11: Gastern, Municipal Center
April 24: Paudorf, Kienzle Museum
May 9: Oberwaltersdorf, Bettfedernfabrik
Oct 1: Wittau, KU.BA in the Marchfeld
Oct 3: Purkersdorf, Die Bühne
Nov 14: Obersiebenbrunn, Multipurpose hall
Jan 29, 2027: Schwechat, Satire Festival
March 17, 2027: Wiener Neustadt, Stadttheater

Burgenland
Sept 25: Neufeld an der Leitha, Fred Sinowatz Culture Center