Beirut, Lebanon (CNN)Daylight filters through a large gap at the back of an abandoned cinema in central Beirut. The silhouetted figures of protesters gather on the steps to listen to a political talk by Charbel Nahas.

For days, the two-time former minister and progressive party leader has attracted large crowds, as he shares his ideas for a political transition to a non-sectarian government. Today, he takes center stage in the crumbling amphitheater.

"The regime has already fallen!" says Nahas in a rousing 20-minute speech. "I want you all to look around you and see that the state hasn't always been this bad, and it will change."

The protesters cheer. Calls for "revolution" bounce off the walls of the structure, known as The Egg. The moustachioed Nahas stands against the backdrop of graffiti that says: "Black. Poor. Black. Gay. Trans."