• Ahmad Nabil: Fetus Exodus

    Jameel Library Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai

    A Jameel Library Commission by the Palestinian artist and educator that explores regional myths and legends through ten monthly texts – chapters in fact, in digital form – that address an imagined foetus (referred to as a “child of myths") [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mama Mia!

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    The worldwide smash hit arrives in Abu Dhabi with its heartwarming story (the lighthearted and humorous tale of a mother, her daughter, and three possible fathers on an idyllic Greek island), created by Judy Craymer – who rarely gets the [ ... ]

    From AED 125
  • Ihab Ahmad: I PUT MY BRAIN ON PAUSE!

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The new body of work in this solo exhibition marks a turning point in Ihab Ahmad’s practice – "a move toward instinct, spontaneity, and emotional exploration" as the gallery puts it. Smiling faces populate the canvases, each a reflection of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Layered Dialogues: Society as Medium – In/Visible City

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Another in the series of panel discussions based around the Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits exhibition at this venue (runs to 30 June and is well worth seeing). Artist Minouk Lim talks with Wael Al Awar, Principal architect [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection: dir Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (2019)

    Efiɛ Gallery 2 Al Khayat Art Avenue, First Al Khail Street, Dubai

    Much-awarded poetic and emotional feature from Lesotho, a vivid, beautifully crafted reflection on identity, community and the tension between respecting age-old traditions and accepting the seemingly unstoppable march of progress. When her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Politically Incorrect Comedy

    The Clavichord Signature Hotel, Barsha Heights, Dubai

    Mad Cat Comedy returns to the Clavichord in TECOM with "Dubai's wildest comedy night ... raw, unfiltered, hilarious". The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.

    AED 80
  • The Zero Apologies Show

    Al Ain Palace Hotel Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Mad Cat Comedy comes to Abu Dhabi's Al Ain Palace with "Dubai's top comedy night ... a crowdwork show where you are the joke". The cover charge of AED 99 includes two drinks.

    AED 99
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

    The final Dubai stops for this month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Marlon Davis effortlessly confident stand-up who began performing on the UK’s black comedy circuit and quickly graduated to a wider audience, including several Edinburgh Festival Fringes, the winner's [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • 63Kolektib: Metro Diaries

    The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Commissioned by The Arts Center, Metro Diaries invites audiences to step into a world that reflects the rhythm of daily metro rides through evocative performances that blend spoken word, dance, and live soundscapes; the experience unfolds in vignettes that capture [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Joke Hub

    Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair 1, Dubai

    Another Mad Cat Comedy night – "Dubai's wildest comedy show on Saturday" (sic). The cover charge of AED 99 includes two drinks.

    AED 99
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

    The final gig for this month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Marlon Davis effortlessly confident stand-up who began performing on the UK’s black comedy circuit and quickly graduated to a wider audience, including several Edinburgh Festival Fringes, the winner's place [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • 63Kolektib: Metro Diaries

    The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Last chance to see the show commissioned by The Arts Center. Metro Diaries invites audiences to step into a world that reflects the rhythm of daily metro rides through evocative performances that blend spoken word, dance, and live soundscapes; the [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial: Bik Van der Pol’s The poem that jumps the fence

    Abu Dhabi Beach Al Hisn Street, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • M.O.R.O.N.S

    Blacksmith Bar The First Collection Business Bay, Al A'amal Street, Dubai

    Mad Cat's Business Bay comedy night. The cover charge of AED 99 includes one drink.

    AED 99
  • Flow: dir Gints Zilbalodis (2024)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    An absolutely stunning low-budget (and largely handmade) antidote to Disneyification – a wordless animated fable about a cat reluctantly making friends with a dog, a ring-tailed lemur, a capybara and a secretary bird in a post-apocalyptic world. There's a message, [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Mountain Boy: dir Zainab Sheheen (2023)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Feel-good family feature film based on Michele Ziolkowski's award-winning children’s book The Boy Who Knew the Mountains. Suhail, a lad with autism, flees to the mountains when his father shuns him. With his new friend Barakah, an Arabian Saluki, Suhail makes [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Dangerous Gentlemen: dir Maciej Kawalski (2022)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Crime comedy featuring four distinguished figures from Polish culture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries – novelist Joseph Conrad, translator Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski and painter and writer Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. Their hangovers headaches are killing [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Mina Liccione & Friends in Abu Dhabi

    Broadway Brasserie and Bar Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Does exactly what it says on the tin: the Queen of the Dubai comedy scene in "a fantastic evening of comedy and music with some special guests".

    AED 95
  • The Comedy Lab @ Easy Tiger

    Al Ain Palace Hotel Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Mad Cat brings its standup crew to Abu Dhabi's Easy Tiger bar in the Al Ain Palace. The door price of AED 99 includes two drinks ...

    AED 99
  • Bigman: dir Camiel Schouwenaar (2022)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Much-awarded family movie that follows friends Dylan and Youssef, who are connected by their passion for football. But then Dylan is paralysed following an accident: his dad and former coach wants him to accept his disability, but though Dylan has [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Carmen: dir Valerie Buhagiar (2021)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Inspired in part by the real experiences of the director's own aunt, this drama stars Natascha McElhone as Carmen, a Maltese spinster who has spent her adult life serving as a caretaker for her brother, a Catholic priest; as she [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Karama Arts Club Social

    [To be confirmed] Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Newly legitimised with a licence to call itself "Dubai’s first and only non-profit social club for independent creatives", KAC is effectively relaunching with a social night at an undisclosed location in Al Barsha (seems Karama was too awkward to get [ ... ]

    AED 180
  • Two to One: dir Natja Brunckhorst (2024)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    A heist comedy set in East Germany and based in part on a true story. It's the final hot summer before reunification in 1990; free-spirited Maren, her partner Robert and friend Volker happen upon millions of soon-to-be-worthless East German banknotes [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Pete Davidson

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    The Saturday Night Live alumnus brings his characteristic mix of irreverence and vulnerability to the region for the first time, as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Season.

    From AED 295
  • Mohammad Alfaraj: Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    The first institutional solo exhibition of Mohammad Alfaraj brings together installations, photography, video works and site-specific commissions that respond to the gardens and outdoor spaces of the Jameel. Central to Alfaraj’s practice is his use of storytelling, both in written [ ... ]

    Free
  • Shingo Yamazaki: Mauka to Makai

    Volery Gallery Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

    The Middle East solo debut for the LA-based artist, known for layered, poetic paintings that explore the intersection of memory, identity, and place. Says the gallery: "Yamazaki constructs atmospheric compositions where domestic interiors dissolve into natural landscapes. Veil-like layers of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Living Large: dir Kristina Dufková (2024)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Family-friendly animation about a 12-year-old boy who faces bullying because of his weight. He decides to take charge of his life by adopting a healthier lifestyle and wining the heart of the girl he admires. Through his journey, he learns [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Mond: dir Kurdwin Ayub (2024)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    A former martial artist hired to train three wealthy Jordanian sisters finds her dream job become something else, something unsettling: the isolated young women are under constant surveillance and show no interest in the sport. Why was she really hired? [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • The Musicians: dir Grégory Magne (2024)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Comedy-drama about a unique concert – Astrid (Valérie Donzelli) attempts to realise a family dream by bringing together four violin virtuosos. Rehearsals quickly turn into a disaster because of the conflict of egos, so Astrid calls on a retired composer [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Nataly Aukar

    Space 42 Arena Al Raha St, Abu Dhabi

    Lebanese-born NYC-based conic, a regular at Gotham Comedy Club and Union Hall shows in Brooklyn. The prices seem a bit steep, but she really is a classy, clever comedian with a self-deprecatingly confessional line in  talking about he life, her [ ... ]

    From AED 195
  • LAST CHANCE Abdullah Al Othman: Structural Syntax

    Iris Projects Studio 20, Madar 39, MiZa, Port Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The Saudi artist has long been developing a highly characteristic visual language rooted in the Arabian urban landscapes, architecture, and linguistic history. In his work, In his monumental installations and sculptures Al Othman reflects on the layers of history embedded [ ... ]

    Free
  • Jazziyat feat. Banah

    Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

    A first of its kind, Jazziyat is a musical revival that brings a contemporary twist to classical renditions by the musical giants of the Arab world, Banah’s ability to sing in both English and Arabic as well as various genres [ ... ]

    From AED 132
  • Io Sto Bene: dir Donato Rotunno (2020)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Writer-director Rotunno blends past and present in this understated melodrama. Antonio is an Italian who emigrated ti Luxembourg to find work. Now widowed, he is preparing to move out of his comfortable apartment to a care home. A chance encounter [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • The Trap: dir Nadejda Koseva (2023)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Bojeka is an eccentric man with a strong sense of his own dignity, who lives in solitude on the banks of the Danube in harmony with nature and a collection of animals. Then the local bigwigs want to create a [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • The Government Inspector

    The Government Inspector
    The Junction Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Somehow Nikolai Gogol's play never feels outdated: originally published in 1836 and revised in 1842, the play is a comedy of mistaken identity, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and political corruption. It's also very funny, "proving that bureaucracy and buffoonery are [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Touki Bouki: dir Djibril Diop Mambéty (1973)

    Efiɛ Gallery 2 Al Khayat Art Avenue, First Al Khail Street, Dubai

    Mory, a sometime cattle herder, and his grilfriend Anta, a university student, yearn to leave their boring, circumscribed world and find prosperity and stability in France. The late Djibril Diop Mambéty was a true Senegalese auteur, an actor, orator, composer [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Remember to Blink: dir Austėja Urbaitė (2021)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    A French couple have adopted two children from Lithuania; they enlist the help of Gabriele, a young Lithuanian student, to serve as an interpreter and nanny. When the children arrive, the idyllic façade of the new family arrangement buckles under [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Dave Chappelle

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    The award-winning comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer always goes well in the UAE – including a record-breaking sold-out show at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Comedy Week in 2024 which drew over 14,000 people and became the region's largest-ever comedy event. [ ... ]

    From AED 275
  • Politically Incorrect Comedy

    The Clavichord Signature Hotel, Barsha Heights, Dubai

    Mad Cat Comedy returns to the Clavichord in TECOM with "Dubai's wildest comedy night ... raw, unfiltered, hilarious". The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.

    AED 80
  • We call it Ballet: Sleeping Beauty

    Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

    This is a version of the ballet that features just six dancers (rather than the 30 or more in a full conventional production) "to bring this classic tale to life on stage".  The show is created, directed, and choreographed by [ ... ]

    From AED 139
  • Family Saturdays at the Jameel: Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    A family workshop day based on Mohammad Alfaraj’s current Jameel exhibition Seas are sweet, fish tears are salty. It starts with a tour, led by Alfaraj, and delves into his artistic practice – particularly his approach to storytelling alongside the [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Tarrac: dir Declan Recks (2023)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Arriving back in Kerry after her father has had a heart attack, Aoife (Kelly Gough) initially has some trouble shaking off her urban pretensions and reconnecting with old pals. But she finds herself recruited into the local sea-rowing team; they [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Four Souls of Coyote: dir Áron Gauder (2023)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Animated adventure drama about Native American protesters confronting the crew of an oil pipeline project that is located near their ancestral lands. The grandfather shares an ancient tale of their Creation myth, a story filled with adventures featuring animals, magic, [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • The Government Inspector

    The Government Inspector
    The Junction Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The second performance of the Junction's production of Gogol's comedy of mistaken identity, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and political corruption. It's also very funny, "proving that bureaucracy and buffoonery are a match made in theatrical heaven" as the producers put [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • ELF Community Night – Stories at Sundown

    Emirates Literature Foundation Dar Al Adaab, Al Shindagha, Dubai

    An Emirates Literature Foundation evening of poetry and music: featured artists followed by an open mic session. "Come along and connect with the community."

    Free, but pre-register
  • UFO Sweden: dir Victor Danell (2023)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Stranger Things meets X-Files – young Swedish teen rebel Denise is placed in foster care after her dad goes missing. She believes her father was kidnapped by UFOs, and she gets in touch with the quirky local skywatchers association, UFO [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Joke Hub

    Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair 1, Dubai

    Another Mad Cat Comedy night – "Dubai's wildest comedy show on Saturday" (sic). The cover charge of AED 99 includes two drinks.

    AED 99
  • Library Circles: Samar Halloum

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    A workshop led by Palestinian architect and educator Samar Halloum as part of the public programmes for Jameel Library Circles. Halloum will present research developed through her fieldwork and interviews in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Palestine, some of which is [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Ramona: dir Andrea Bagney (2022)

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Andrea Bagney’s debut feature, largely shot in black and white in a stylistic nod to the French New Wave of the 1960s, is a romantic comedy with a difference. After living abroad for several years, Ramona and her boyfriend Nico [ ... ]

    AED 25
  • Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial: Bik Van der Pol’s The poem that jumps the fence

    Abu Dhabi Beach Al Hisn Street, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register