The jailed Iranian director Jafar Panahi plays a version of himself, forced to shoot his new film in a village near the Turkish border whose inhabitants are encouraged to be scared of supposed “bears” roaming the countryside – just as [ ... ]
The Emmy-winning comedian brings his distinctive brand of comedy to the Etihad Arena for Abu Dhabi Comedy Week, his only gig in the region.
Classic Feydeau farce (actually co-written with Maurice Desvallières). It's set in a notorious hotel, with a motley group of guests entering and exiting rooms that are only sometimes the right ones ... Lies and misunderstandings, frustrations and lack of luck [ ... ]
This drama, Gamal’s second feature, is based on a true story: Isra’a and Ahmed and their five children are engaged in a daily struggle against poverty in war-torn Yemen. When they discover that Isra’a is pregnant, they scrape together the [ ... ]
An exhibition that aims to demonstrate the power of digital art to break spatial, temporal and generational borders, "creating synergies between different audiences and making art not only timeless, but also universal, close and understandable". It features work by Bakkali [ ... ]
From their makeshift bird hospital in their tiny basement, two brothers -- Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad – try to care for thousands of the black kites that struggle in New Delhi's smog-choked skies. As environmental toxicity and civil unrest [ ... ]
Fourteen-year-old Zeina lives with her mother and father in Damascus, one of the few remaining families in a devastated neighbourhood. Covert visits from a local boy offer Zeina glimpses of freedom outside the oppressive control of her father – but [ ... ]
A cocktail reception (8-8.30pm) followed by a recital from two artists who have been a hit in the Classical talents series – pianist Magdalena Wajdzik and harpist Erdinç Komsu. They will be performing works by Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Hasselmans. [ ... ]
The Egyptian surgeon-turned-satirist Bassem Youssef and the American comedian-turned-actor Maz Jobrani actually make a good double act, as seen/heard on various podcasts, chat shows and interviews, though for this Abu Dhabi Comedy Week we’d expect them to be doing successive [ ... ]
A second show for this Feydeau farce set in a notorious hotel, with a motley group of guests entering and exiting rooms that are only sometimes the right ones ... Performed by students of Culture Emulsion's Dubai-based drama school as [ ... ]
Mona is a retired singer in a tense marriage in Northern Sudan. Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, she tries to make amends by taking in the dead man’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel. Mona [ ... ]
A solo exhibition with examples of many of the disciplines and media that made up Koraïchi's practice, all "showcasing his abiding fascination with the creation of deeply layered seams within the spiritual, political and intellectual". Koraïchi often speaks of belonging [ ... ]
It's a pleasure to find an artist who is prepared to expand on their principles, and to do with Zhivago Duncan's level of articulation. "Within this new collection," writes Duncan, "I have endeavoured to distill the complexity of ideas and [ ... ]
A new body of work in this solo exhibition from Syrian artist Orman Younis offers "a poignant social commentary on his surroundings, the human condition, and current state of political affairs in the region" that "combines ideas of post-Modernism with [ ... ]
The first-ever solo exhibition for artist, architect and researcher Dima Srouji, whose work acts as a form of political commentary and as a place-making (or un-making) tool – "Interested in the ground, objects, displacement, restitution, forgeries, and living archives, the [ ... ]
The title of this exhibition evokes a notion that originates from the world of the moving image. Key frames are those that define a scene in a film; they set its starting as well as ending point, they are typically [ ... ]
An afternoon of films, some full-length and some shorts, for a single price (AED 50) as part of the sixth edition of the Manarat’s CinemaMAS film festival. (Individual films on weekdays are AED 30 per head, and there’s an all-inclusive [ ... ]
The final afternoon of films in the sixth edition of the Manarat’s CinemaMAS film festival; there's a single price (AED 50) for the whole programme. (Individual films on weekdays are AED 30 per head, and there’s an all-inclusive ticket at [ ... ]
We like the idea of comedy with brunch (the price doesn’t include any food and drink, of course) and these two South Africans should be a pretty tasty addition to Abu Dhabi Comedy Week. Robby Collins is a hard-working comedian [ ... ]
A second improv workshop, billed as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Week, that focuses on the nuts and bolts of improvisational comedy, short-form games, and exercises you can take away; it’s open to all levels (min age 15) and is [ ... ]
A second chance to sit in on what's promised to be a "raw, real and hilarious" live podcast, hosted by top local comedian Ali Al Sayed with guests as a contribution to Abu Dhabi Comedy Week. Free to attend, but [ ... ]
The American actor/comedian/writer is one of the biggest names in the comedy tour business – this current tour is visiting more than 40 cities worldwide, and this gig for Abu Dhabi Comedy Week falls somewhere in the middle of the [ ... ]
Panic blows through a burlesque cabaret when the star artists discover the assassination of their boss. Sassy or down to earth, rebellious or naive, or even mothers with psychopathic tendencies, they decide to carry out the investigation – in their [ ... ]
Pinoy standup for Abu Dhabi Comedy Week from Ahmed Kasid, Joshua-John Dias and the ever-reliable Imah Dumagay.
A group show, curated by Mara Firetti, Ali Cha'aban and Celine Azem and featuring Aidha Badr, ARE Studios, Ghaleb Hawila, Jason Seife, Khalid Zahid, Salmah Al-Mansoori and Sawsan Al Bahar. The exhibition explores the mythology of where the oral culture [ ... ]
A show from the popular kids entertainer as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Week. Slightly disappointing that this is pitched as a family-friendly gig with one price for all – there are no reduced-price tickets for kids.
An open invitation to all performing artists, creatives, and curious individuals looking to explore movement practices: participants will explore performance exercises such as contact improvisation, breath work, acting warm-ups, games, and techniques. Each session will introduce new and unique exercises [ ... ]
Last chance to sit in on what's promised to be a "raw, real and hilarious" live podcast, hosted by top local comedian Ali Al Sayed with guests as a contribution to Abu Dhabi Comedy Week.
Two top women standups with real American sass – Liccione from New York via Dubai, Williams (“known as The Beautiful Beast”) from LA. Expect a woman’s point of view with no holds barred from this Abu Dhabi Comedy Week gig [ ... ]
Top Filipino-American comic with a nice line in impersonations, anecdotes, and witty commentary on life (mainly his) and his colourful family. This gig is part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Week.
A second performance of this comic thriller by students of Culture Emulsion's Dubai-based drama school as part of its annual Tous en Scène festival of Francophone theatre.
Tucker may have transitioned successfully into Hollywood hits like the Rush Hour franchise, but he hasn’t lost any of the energy and slick timing that distinguish his comedy specials. He gets the late spot (following Tom Segura) in this Abu [ ... ]
Desi-American comic Akaash Singh shares this Abu Dhabi Comedy Week bill with local Desi comedians Saaniya Abaas, Miqdaad Dohadwala and Yash Bhardwaj. “If you’re easily offended, maybe don’t come to this one.” say the organisers …
A group exhibition curated by Faridah Folawiyo, showcasing artists of African origin across the world and examining how artists from Africa and the diaspora see the restrictive concepts of Eurocentric cultural superiority. The show aims to stretch audiences’ limits and [ ... ]
Tales of displacement and resilience from the Palestinian-Syrian Dutch artist Oussama Diab and Palestinian Wadeei Khaled. "Viewers are invited to explore the delicate terrain of individual and collective memories, manifested in the rich variety of Diab and Khaled’s artworks." The [ ... ]
Prior to his Arts Center show tomorrow, the fiercely independent hip hop artist Oddisee will lead a talk in the NYUAD Gallery Reading Room that focuses on the DIY entrepreneurial approach to building his career – instead of pursuing record [ ... ]
Exactly what it says: a regular Monday 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 stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]
"Amidst the unsettled times of an uprising in Iran, grappling with uncertainties, sadness, and paradoxes, artist Amir Khojasteh sought solace in his studio and tried to make sense of what was happening ... In this topsy-turvy world, the artist persisted [ ... ]
A rare chance to see an unusual, indeed exceptional hip hop artist at work. Oddisee has always ploughed his own furrow – making his own music for the last 20 years and running his own label now, avoiding the temptations [ ... ]
The regular Alliance Française ciné-apéro evening (a glass of wine and canapés before the screening) this month features Desclou's psychological/political thriller; a young couple with political aspirations more or less accidentally kill a violent driver on a remote country road. [ ... ]
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth," said Albert Einstein, "man would have no more than four years left to live". Well, all over the world bees have been dying for the past few years. Although the [ ... ]
The best ever concert film? Certain one of the best; and one of the best suits, too ... Jonathan Demme captured the energy and artsy groove of David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison at their best. Shot [ ... ]
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 with the lowest score is eliminated. Eventually only [ ... ]
A collection of abstract figurative works on canvas, "inviting viewers into a realm of recognition and constant metamorphosis ... Each 190 x 120cm canvas serves as a conduit for Miramar's endeavour to encapsulate the essence of the natural formations of [ ... ]
BFAF's art history lecture programme continues with art historian and researcher Maryam Jalali, who will explore how Eastern motifs and styles were romanticised in Western design from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Above: Fabio Fabbi, Women Resting on [ ... ]
A reprise of Culture Emulsion's careful and effective treatment of the Vagina Monologues; the dramatist Eve Ensler based her text on more than 200 interviews with women who confided their sensations, their traumas, their aspirations, their anxieties, their joys … [ ... ]
One of the most consistently funny of the Courtyard's classic improv gigs is back after a couple of months' hiatus: the speakers have to give a presentation on a slide deck they’ve never seen before, with the topic determined at [ ... ]
A solo show for the French-born LA-based street artist who started filming graffiti art and subsequently became an artist in his own right after an off-hand suggestion from Banksy. As it happens, many of the 10 works on show here [ ... ]
A duo exhibition for Emirati artist Mohamed Yousif and Kenyan sculptor Maggie Otieno that "celebrates the grounded connections between the practices of the two artists and the cross-cultural exchange between the Middle East and Africa". Or as curator Shamma Al [ ... ]
Ninety minutes of unplanned improv, performed (in French, of course) by students of Culture Emulsion's Dubai-based drama school as part of its annual Tous en Scène festival of Francophone theatre.
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