• Stuff!

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second show for "Melbourne’s goofiest duo", aka Jon & Jero,  in a hilarious tale of two bumbling brothers on a mission to recover their stolen stuff. Venturing across strange and wonderful lands and encountering a whirlwind of silly antics, [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • Sam Wills: Tape Face

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second Dubai Comedy Festival, show for Tape Face, a silent, eccentric character whose comedy transcends the boundaries of age, language, and culture; taking inspiration from silent film, mime, magic, and puppetry, Sam Wills' character makes shoes sing, empty dresses [ ... ]

    From AED 100
  • Con Coutis

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second performance for this wildly original Dubai Comedy Festival show flips traditional comedy on its head, delivering a futuristic, sonically charged, hilariously unexpected experience: 50 years after a meteor has wiped out every comedian but one, the Government revives [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • MUSH

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second performance of this "weird but wonderful" ‘kids show for adults’ at the Dubai Comedy Festival – expect plenty of clown antics, character work, and audience interaction.    

    From AED 150
  • Omid Djalili: NAMASTE

    Dubai Opera

    An early-evening Dubai Comedy Festival gig for the British-Iranian funnyman – 30 years in comedy, and despite the Hollywood cameos and TV roles the live stage has always felt his true home. Acid wit and self-deprecating anecdotes plus belly laughs [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • DXB Theatre Awards

    The Bagot, McGettigans JLT Bonnington, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

    The first ever DXB Theatre Awards has 116 nominations spread over 22 productions – which surely demonstrates the vitality of Dubai’s theatre scene. Leading the nominations are two musicals, Guys and Dolls by Music Theatre DXB and Romeo+Juliet (featuring the [ ... ]

    Free
  • Shawn Chidiac aka My Parents are Divorced

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second Dubai Comedy Festival gig  for the Lebanese-Canadian comedian, a genuine rising star known for his sharp wit blended with raw, relatable humour. SOLD OUT but there may be returns

    From AED195
  • Akaash Singh

    Dubai Opera

    In addition to his podcast success – Flagrant, with fellow comedian Andrew Schulz – and a burgeoning acting career, Akaash Sing is proving to be a canny and funny stand-up: he self-produced and directed his first stand-up special, Bring Back [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • Sharjah International Film Festival for Children & Youth (SIFF)

    Vox Cinema, City Center Al Zahia University Road, Al Zahia, Sharjah

    The 12th Edition of SIFF takes place 6 to 11 October at VOX Cinemas in City Centre Al Zahia with what looks like a strong lineup – 76 films (chosen from 1,740 submissions!) representing 26 countries. South Korea is participating [ ... ]

    tbc
  • La Llorona: dir Jayro Bustamante (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Guatemalan auteur Jayro Bustamante’s transfixing fusion of folklore, magical realism and searing political commentary was inspired by the real-life indictment of the authoritarian Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes against humanity. A notorious, indignant, ageing former military dictator, Enrique stands trial [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

    Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Exactly what it says: an evening of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation influenced by audience suggestions and featuring the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus guests. Classic Courtyard improv. It's free, but you need to put your name on [ ... ]

    Free
  • Joanne McNally

    Dubai Opera

    Two Dubai Comedy Festival shows in one evening for the Irish funnywoman, at 6.30pm and 9.30pm; catch one of them if you can, because she is very good. She's a regular on TV in Britain and Ireland, and she co-hosts [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • Nat Bowen: Chromology

    Bassam Freiha Art Foundation Cultural District Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Known for works of glossy, abstract resin poured on to acrylic, Bowen creates luminous, aqueous fields that transform colour into a language of emotion and presence. With this show, says the gallery, "viewers are invited into an intimate space of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Golden Ink: A Journey through Arab and Islamic Manuscripts

    Qasr Al Watan Ras Al Akhdar, Abu Dhabi

    This flagship travelling exhibition, run in collaboration with McGill University, Canada, is a great chance to explore the richness, inherent beauty, and global impact of the heritage of Arabic and Islamic manuscripts. The exhibition promises an exploration of the intellectual [ ... ]

    General admission AED 65
  • Andrew Schulz: Flagrant Live

    Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

    Known for its high-energy banter and unpredictability,  US comic Andrew Schulz brings his hit Flagrant podcast to the Dubai Comedy Festival, Expect special guests and boundary-testing comedy in a live podcast taping.  

    From AED295
  • David Voinson

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    David Voinson takes the stage with a sharp, hilarious look at the chaos of dating, friendship, and figuring life out in your twenties. Caught between staying single or searching for real love, he unpacks the confusion of his generation with [ ... ]

    From AED 175
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

    Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The Courtyard's most peopular evening of elimination improv. Ten actors converge for a night of scenes, songs and games based on audience suggestions. After each round you score the players on a scale of 1 to 5, and the one [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mo Amer

    Dubai Opera

    First of two Dubai Comedy Festival nights with two shows per night (6.30 and 9.30m) for the Palestinian-American stand-up and writer. Expect reflections on family, fresh takes on fatherhood, and candid insights on today’s world.  

    From AED 295
  • Banafsheh Hemmati: Body Geometry

    Satellite Gallery DIFC, Dubai

    The first solo exhibition in the UAE for the Tehran-based artist-designer presents a collection of the artist’s jewellery and wearable sculptures. Body Geometry is a research-based project, where the design process is presented as well as the finished pieces. As [ ... ]

    Free
  • And After

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

    A major group exhibition that explores the element of air and its various states through the lens of Arabic terminology, specifically Sukoon, Hawaa, Naseem and Riyah. Sukoon symbolises stillness and the pause between movement; Hawaa refers to the gentle, everyday [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim: Two Clouds in the Night Sky

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

    A solo show celebrating the work of Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, a massively influential figure in the development of contemporary art in the UAE. He was part of the UAE's first generation of contemporary artists from the late 1980s, an avant-garde [ ... ]

    Free
  • Masood Boomgaard

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    The rather good South African / Indian comedian is back for a Dubai Comedy festival gig with his alter ego, Self-Help Singh, alternative life coach and de-motivational speaker (who apparently “first appeared to Boomgaard in a vision after he fell [ ... ]

    From AED 250
  • Psycho: dir Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    It doesn't get much better than the original if you want a psychological thriller dripping with suspense. Janet Leigh stars as Phoenix secretary Marion Crane, absconding with a small fortune of her employer’s money; she takes a wrong turn in [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Shakespeare’s Othello

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

    A much acclaimed version of Shakespeare's original, adapted for Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre Centre by director Lara Foot. Other reworkings of Othello have riffed on the notion of the outsider (and a victim of racism) who will always be looked [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • German Laugh Club

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Benaissa Lamroubal, Khalid Bounouar, and Salim Samatou – three big names in German stand-up – are bringing an evening of sharp wit, bold stories, and non-stop laughs to the Dubai Comedy Festival And it's all in German, which is something [ ... ]

    From AED 170
  • Mo Amer

    Dubai Opera

    Second of two Dubai Comedy Festival nights with two shows per night (6.30 and 9.30m) for the Palestinian-American stand-up and writer. Expect reflections on family, fresh takes on fatherhood, and candid insights on today’s world.  

    From AED 295
  • Paul Taylor

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Offbeat expat anecdotes of being a Brit in France from a British comedian who has made a name for himself there by creating, writing, and starring in the hit TV show WTF France. He also claims to be the first [ ... ]

    From AED 250
  • Les Choristes: dir Christophe Barratier (2004)

    Germaine Tillion Garden, SUAD Campus Abu Dhabi

    This French-language musical drama has a famed French conductor performing in the United States returning to his home in France for his mother's funeral. An old friend calls round with a diary that belonged to their old teacher; reading it [ ... ]

    Free
  • Shakespeare’s Othello

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

    The second performance of Lara Foot's decolonial version of Shakespeare's original, set in 1880s Namibia (which at the time was German Southwest Africa) and inviting the audiences to see the legacies of the brutal violence of colonisation. It feels like [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    The Agenda Abdullah Omran Taryam St, Media City, Dubai

    The October Laughter Factory tour, billed as "Arena-Quality Comedy in an Intimate Setting"; it's certainly a good one this time round. The acts: Jimmy McGhie Gold-plated comedy from a UK standup who's performed all round the world (he's been a [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • The Shape of Things to Come

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

    A striking collection of artists feature in this group show, with works by El Anatsui, Iman Issa, Abdoulaye Konaté, Adam Pendleton, Yinka Shonibare and Carrie Mae Weems. Curated by Japan-based American curator Dexter Wimberly, the exhibition responds to "the shifting [ ... ]

    Free
  • Art Here 2025

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    The fifth edition of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here exhibition, featuring six artworks by seven artists shortlisted for the Richard Mille Art Prize, has been curated by guest curator Sophie Mayuko Arni under the theme Shadows – "exploring the [ ... ]

    General admission AED 65
  • Matty Grey: 101 Ways to Annoy Your Parents and Other Really Old People

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Matty Grey’s award-winning show for the Dubai Comedy Festival has a dangerousy seductive title. We're promised outrageously funny antics, gross-out games, and "hilarious tips on how to drive grown-ups crazy (in the best way)". There's a second show tomorrow (12 [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • Jonny Awsum: The Kids Show

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Feel-good musical comedy for the Dubai Comedy Festival, "guaranteed to get all ages singing and laughing along". Each show finishes with a meet and greet session with Jonny and a photo opportunity with the bowler hats from ‘This is a [ ... ]

    AED 125
  • Amer Zahr

    Dubai Opera

    The Palestinian-American comedian (and author, political activist and adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law) brings more than 10 years of comedy experience to this Dubai Comedy festival gig. He was great at last year's Festival, too, [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Laser Kiwi: Rise of the Olive

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    "The world’s only surreal sketch circus" comes to the Dubai Comedy Festival. This award-winning trio brings world-record bounce juggling, jaw-dropping aerial acts, Jenga stunts, and plenty of pimento-stuffed olives in a wildly inventive show that blends next-level circus skills with [ ... ]

    From AED 100
  • Édith par Jil Aigrot

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

    The 'Edith' is Edith Édith, and singer Jil Aigrot provided Piaf's voice in the Oscar-winning La Vie en Rose. This production, which has already been a success when staged in Dubai some months ago, takes audiences on a journey through [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

    Africa Hall Al Manakh, Sharjah

    The fourth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation's Perform Sharjah programme of performances opens with Muhanad Kareem’s adaptation of the 2009 novel by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk. In a remote village, surrounded by a dense forest full of wild animals, a [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Studio One Hotel Dubai Studio City, Dubai

    The October Laughter Factory tour looks a good one. The acts: Jimmy McGhie Gold-plated comedy from a UK standup who's performed all round the world (he's been a hit in Dubai too). Highly recommended Karen Bayley Well-established (over a decade [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Matty Grey: 101 Ways to Annoy Your Parents and Other Really Old People

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second outing for Matty Grey’s award-winning show for the Dubai Comedy Festival. We're promised outrageously funny antics, gross-out games, and "hilarious tips on how to drive grown-ups crazy (in the best way)".

    From AED 75
  • Jonny Awsum: The Kids Show

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Another performance of this feel-good musical comedy for the Dubai Comedy Festival, "guaranteed to get all ages singing and laughing along". Each show finishes with a meet-and-greet session with Jonny and a photo opportunity with the bowler hats from ‘This [ ... ]

    AED 125
  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: dir Charles Barton (1948)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Gratifyingly, this does exactly what it says on the tin (or rather, in the title): the world of railroad baggage handlers Chick Young (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) is turned upside down when they receive a strange shipment [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Mummy: dir Stephen Sommers (1999)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Action-packed tongue-firmly-in-cheek adventure. Deep in the Egyptian desert, a band of explorers searching for long-lost treasure have accidentally unearthed and resurrected a 3,000-year-old Egyptian priest. Adventurer Rick O' Connell (Brendan Fraser) pairs up with librarian (?) Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) and [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Imah Dumagay: Rice and Sand

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A mash-up of expat life, identity crises, marriage survival, and the everyday chaos of being too polite and too tired at the same time, the funniest Filipina in Dubai dives deep into what it means to be a woman navigating [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • Laser Kiwi: Rise of the Olive

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second Dubai Comedy Festival performance for "the world’s only surreal sketch circus". Expect world-record bounce juggling, jaw-dropping aerial acts, Jenga stunts, and plenty of pimento-stuffed olives in a wildly inventive show that blends next-level circus skills with a lot [ ... ]

    From AED 100
  • Riaad Moosa & Joey Rasdien: Brother from Another Mother

    Dubai Opera

    The South African comedy reunite on stage for this Dubai Comedy Festival show. Expect witty takes on identity, politics, and family, with contrasting styles that make for very good on-stage chemistry ...

    From AED150
  • PechaKucha: On Noise

    Etihad Museum 1 Jumeirah St, Dubai

    Sound is a force we rarely notice, yet it shapes our spatial, emotional, and cultural experiences in profound ways. This PechaKucha explores the unseen aspects of sound, spanning audiology, vinyl technology, architectural acoustics, voice as branding, and early childhood communication [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Studio One Hotel Dubai Studio City, Dubai

    The October Laughter Factory tour looks a good one. The acts: Jimmy McGhie Gold-plated comedy from a UK standup who's performed all round the world (he's been a hit in Dubai too). Highly recommended Karen Bayley Well-established (over a decade [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Redouane Bougheraba

    Dubai Opera

    French comedy icon Redouane Bougheraba is back in Dubai, headlining a Dubai Opera show for the Dubai Comedy festival. French comedy doesn't get much better than this ...

    From AED195
  • The Teachers’ Lounge: dir İlker Çatak (2023)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) is an idealistic new high-school teacher. She seems to have connected with her Year 8 students, who are engaged and eager to learn in her maths class. But something is bubbling underneath the surface, and she’s [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register