Madness built Theatre of the Absurd Presents C'est La Vie as a radio variety show: spoken interludes announce the songs, as if you were listening to a performance. Between those hinges sit C'est La Vie, If I Go Mad, Baby Burglar and Run For Your Life, with lyrics about growing older, lockdown and present-day England. In November 2023 it became their first studio album to reach number one on the UK album chart, more than forty years after their first hits.

This edition is the expanded set: a 7-inch, an LP and two CDs, with five extra studio tracks and recordings from the C'est La Vie tour.