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Malarina (Kabarettistin)

Malarina (Kabarettistin)

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Malarina – the sharp-tongued cabaret artist between migration, power, and modern satire

A Serbian-Austrian stage figure with attitude, pace, and razor-sharp observation

Malarina, born Marina Lacković, is a Serbian-Austrian cabaret artist who shapes her artistic identity from biographical experience, social friction, and pointed observation. Born in 1990 in Serbia, raised in Innsbruck, and active in Vienna since 2011, she connects her personal migration history with political satire and a stage presence that unfolds in a simultaneously laconic and explosive manner. Her cabaret thrives on clever political insights, precise language, and the talent to not only comment on societal roles but to elegantly dismantle them. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Biography: From Serbia through Innsbruck to Vienna

The artistic narrative of Malarina begins in a Serbian village and leads through the family's history of guest work in Tyrol to Vienna. Her grandmother was a guest worker in Tyrol, and she herself came to Innsbruck as a kindergarten child; later, in 2011 she moved to the capital, where she studied comparative literature and worked for ORF Online. These stages shape her perspective on language, belonging, and societal attributions, which serve repeatedly as material for precise observation in her cabaret. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Malarina is also multilayered linguistically and culturally: in addition to Serbian, she speaks Romanian and German. It is precisely this multilingualism that is reflected in her stage persona, which does not consist of a smooth identity but of tensions, fractures, and ironic shifts in perspective. Her art thus never seems merely recounted, but like a condensed form of lived social reality. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

The path to the stage: First cabaret, first resonance

The decisive step into the public eye took place in 2019 when she was encouraged by Denice Bourbon in the context of the Politically Correct Comedy Club to step onto the stage herself. She completed her first performances at the Vienna WUK before developing a clear signature with her solo debut Serbs Die Slowly: politically grounded, autobiographically nuanced, and simultaneously constructed so precisely that social conflicts become visible in pointed scenes. The character Malarina also emerged from media inspiration, namely from the ORF reportage series Alltagsgeschichte by Elizabeth T. Spira. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Her debut quickly brought her recognition. For Serbs Die Slowly, she received the Austrian Cabaret Prize's promotion award in 2022, followed by the Salzburg Stier in 2023 and in 2024 the German Small Arts Prize as a promotion award from the city of Mainz and the Mindener Stichling. These awards mark not only artistic success but also the relevance of her approach: Malarina represents a cabaret that not only reflects the present but analytically deconstructs it. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Solo Programs: Satire with historical depth

With Serbs Die Slowly, Malarina established a program that intertwines biography, Balkan politics, Austrian memory culture, and media attributions. Critics describe the work as a mixture of political history lesson and ethnocomedy, as a charming and sharp-witted treatment of Serbian-Austrian grievances, and as clever, highly amusing observations of social tensions. It became clear early on that Malarina wins her audience not through mere gags, but through structure, timing, and the ability to translate complex themes into pointed stage logic. ([malarina.com](https://malarina.com/programm/?utm_source=openai))

In 2025, her second solo program Trophy Theft followed, which premiered on March 7, 2025, at the Vienna Stadtsaal. The official program page features press reviews that accurately capture the tone: humorous and sharp-witted, with great impact far beyond the genre boundaries of cabaret. The content revolves around fame, tax pressure, social roles, and a bourgeois pseudo-feminist who strategically leverages patriarchy rather than destroying it head-on. Exactly in this ambivalence lies the charm of Malarina's art. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Current projects and presence 2025/2026

Even beyond premieres, Malarina remains highly visible. Her schedule for 2026 lists numerous performances of Trophy Theft, including stops in Munich, Salzburg, Graz, Vienna, Linz, Stuttgart, and other cities in the German-speaking region. Additionally, she participates in formats such as The Round Table and the Cabaret Summit, underscoring her status as a fixed presence in the Austrian and southern German cabaret scene. ([malarina.com](https://malarina.com/termine/?utm_source=openai))

Since October 2023, she has been co-hosting the debate podcast Fact Fighters with Berni Wagner. This project expands her stage work into another format where arguments, satire, and political sharpness come together. Her TV appearances, such as in Die Anstalt, Was gibt es Neues?, or in formats like Pratersterne, showcase an artist who is not limited to the stage, but engages various media with the same linguistic precision. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Style and signature: Between ethnocomedy, analysis, and attitude

Malarina's style works with sharp observation, social self-placement, and a controlled delight in provocation. Her dialogue is never merely decorative but carries argumentative energy; her punchlines arise from conflicts between origin, class, language, and Austrian contemporary culture. Reviews of Trophy Theft and Serbs Die Slowly specifically highlight this mixture: humorous, profound, sharp-witted, and socially precise. ([malarina.com](https://malarina.com/programm/?utm_source=openai))

Remarkable is her ability to transform personal biography into a larger political narrative. Migration appears in Malarina's work not merely as a motif of origin but as a space of experience for power questions, attributions, and the mechanics of public debates. Her cabaret possesses a rare density: it entertains, but it also explains, and it makes laughter a tool for cultural understanding. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Critical reception and cultural influence

The response to Malarina's work is remarkably unified. Media outlets like Der Standard, Die Presse, Kurier, profil, ORF.at, and Ö1 describe her programs as intelligent, sharp, surprising, and reaching far beyond the confines of traditional cabaret. This underscores her significance: she represents a new generation of stage artists who do not see political satire as merely a routine program, but as a condensed analysis of society with narrative substance. ([malarina.com](https://malarina.com/programm/?utm_source=openai))

The awards further affirm this status. The Austrian Cabaret Prize, the Salzburg Stier, the German Small Arts Prize, and the Mindener Stichling mark a career that has quickly transformed from first club performances to an established cabaret brand. Malarina embodies a combination of regional rooting, transnational perspective, and a growing media reach that has firmly established her name in the cabaret and cultural scene. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Conclusion: Why Malarina remains so exciting

Malarina is exciting because she shapes a clever stage figure from personal history, remaining simultaneously funny, unconventional, and analytical. Her cabaret possesses pace, attitude, and intellectual sharpness, without losing contact with the audience. Those seeking contemporary critique infused with personality, linguistic wit, and political precision will find in her one of the most interesting voices in German-speaking cabaret. An evening live with Malarina promises not only entertainment but an experience that lingers. ([de.wikipedia.org](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malarina_%28Kabarettistin%29))

Official channels of Malarina:

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