magpie

Sunday Night Comedy
2025-12-21 19:00 - 22:30 (Asia/Dubai) | Social Distrikt, The Pointe, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
The weekly sandup night at Social Distrikt from Dubomedy, top dogs on the Dubai comedy scene. We’re promised “an evening of Big Laughs, Live Music, a Killer Line-up and Great Vibes” … It’s free but there’s a minimum spend of one drink or food item per person.

The Nutcracker
2025-12-21 | Dubai Opera
The final performances (at 2pm and 8pm) of the seasonal favourite, delivered by the Astrakhan Theater Opera and Ballet in a suitably classical manner and of course featuring some of the best-loved music that Tchaikovsky ever wrote …

Joke Hub
2025-12-20 20:00 - 23:30, 2025-12-13 20:00 - 23:30 | Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef, Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair 1, Dubai
A regular MadCat Comedy night – “Dubai’s wildest comedy show on Saturday” (sic). The cover charge of AED 99 includes two F&B coupons.

Bait Al Oud Annual Concert
2025-12-20 20:00 - 22:00 | Cultural Foundation, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi
The Bait Al Oud Annual Concert brings together students, graduates, and instructors to celebrate the musical achievements of the year with the oud, qanun, cello and rebabah. It’s always good …

Once Upon a Time in Dubai
2025-12-20 19:30 - 22:00 | The Agenda, Abdullah Omran Taryam St, Media City, Dubai
A musical celebration of love, ambition, and the power of dreams, “a story of passion and perseverance set in the glamorous city of Dubai” with spectacular choreography, an original soundtrack, and dramatic sets. It’s at the Agenda for a lengthy stint …
20 Dec 7.30pm
22 Dec 7.30pm
23 Dec 7.30pm
24 Dec 2.30pm
25 Dec 7.30pm
26 Dec 2.30 and 7.30pm
27 Dec 2.30 and 7.30pm
29 Dec 7.30pm
30 Dec 7.30pm
31 Dec 2.00pm
1 Jan 7.30pm
2 Jan 2.30 and 7.30pm
3 Jan 2.30 and 7.30pm
1 Jan 7.30pm
5 Jan 7.30pm
7 Jan 7.30pm
8 Jan 7.30pm
9 Jan 2.30 and 7.30pm
10 Jan 2.30 and 7.30pm
11 Jan 7.30pm

LAST CHANCE Hussain Jamil: Refracted Life
2025-12-20 | Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery, Al Khayat Art Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai
In this exhibition, Jamil presents a new body of work that explores how we see ourselves — and how we are seen — in an ever-changing world. Working with hand-formed polished steel wall sculptures, woven metal mesh, and mirrored sculptural surfaces, he creates artworks that bend, fracture, and recompose the viewer’s reflection. Each piece is activated by presence and movement — so the spectator becomes a participant within the work.

The Nutcracker
2025-12-20 | Dubai Opera
Two further performances (at 2pm and 8pm) for the seasonal favourite, delivered by the Astrakhan Theater Opera and Ballet in a suitably classical manner and of course featuring some of the best-loved music that Tchaikovsky ever wrote …
The final performances are tomorrow (21 December).

Politically Incorrect Comedy
2025-12-19 20:00 - 23:30 | Xandros, Singature 1 Hotel, Barsha Heights, Dubai
MadCat Comedy’s regular standup night at Xandros in Signature 1 Hotel, TECOM. The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.

Carols Reimagined
2025-12-19 20:00 - 21:30 | Zabeel Theatre, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai
“Not just a concert, it’s a soulful celebration of joy, light, and togetherness” says the blurb. We’re not sure how much reimagining has gone on to deliver “the spirit of Christmas like never before”, but the lineup is pretty good – Chinua Hawk (USA), Ananya (India), Dina Stars (Jordan), Esther Philander (South Africa), Jessica Alves (Portugal), Rachel Mbalie (Malawi), and Akosua Kyeremanten (Ghana), together with the Nabra Chamber Choir and a “world-class” band. As usual with Zabeel Theatre shows, ticket holders get a 20% discount on food and drink at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

Tajouj: dir Gadalla Gubara (1977)
2025-12-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Efiɛ Gallery, 2 Al Khayat Art Avenue, First Al Khail Street, Dubai
The first feature film to be directed by a Sudanese filmmaker, this historical romance tells of the beautiful Tajouj whose cousin publicly declares his love for her in a song. The traditions of the tribe decry such an act and his proposal of marriage is initially refused – but he apologises, and the marriage is finally allowed. In the meantime, however, another suitor has appeared with tragic consequences …
Screens as part of a monthly film programme in Efie’s Rekord Gallery tracing the intertwined histories of African and Arab Liberation Cinema: “through a carefully curated selection of films, the series interrogates how revolutionary aesthetics, political struggle, and the diasporic imagination have shaped, and continue to shape, the language of cinema across continents”. It’s organised with Bootleg Griot, an independent public library project currently ensconced in the Rekord Gallery that is aimed at improving access to literature and print media – especially from writers and collectives of African descent.

The Nutcracker
2025-12-19 | Dubai Opera
Two further performances (at 2pm and 8pm) for the seasonal favourite, delivered by the Astrakhan Theater Opera and Ballet in a suitably classical manner and of course featuring some of the best-loved music that Tchaikovsky ever wrote …
There are further performances as follows:
20 December 2pm and 8pm21 December 2pm and 8pm

The Comedy Lab
2025-12-18 20:00 - 22:30 | Radisson Red, Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai
MadCat Comedy’s regular stop in Silicon Oasis promises “insane laughs every week”. The door price of AED 99 includes two drinks.

The Nutcracker
2025-12-18 20:00 - 22:00 | Dubai Opera
Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite is a Dubai Opera staple for the time of year, delivered on this occasion by the Astrakhan Theater Opera and Ballet – one of the newer Russian classical companies, but one with a decent reputation for traditional works danced in the classical manner. Besides, you can’t really go wrong with the cute story of Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker Prince journeying through snow-covered kingdoms and the Land of Sweets to some of the best-loved music that Tchaikovsky ever wrote …
There are further performances as follows:
19 December 8pm20 December 2pm and 8pm21 December 2pm and 8pm

Kwang Hyun Kim: Flytrap Anthology
2025-12-17 | Volery Gallery, Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai
A solo show for the Korean artist reflecting Kim’s belief that we live within a paradox where we can be both predators and shelter for one another. Says the gallery: “despite this contradiction we continue to reach outward, to connect, to hope and to build meaning. The exhibition becomes a meditation on the delicate and wilful act of living, offering an intimate look at how desire, solitude, tenderness and contradiction coexist within every human heart …”
Kim’s father worked as a cartoonist, his mother as an illustrator, and he trained in traditional Korean painting: it’s no surprise his works are full of imagery, narrative and symbolism with a strong vein of spiritual iconography and a distinctive visual language. The flytrap recurring in these paintings is a metaphor that suggests the inevitability of wounding each other and the emotional tension between intimacy and self-protection; within this ecosystem Kim places long-standing characters Pipzin (representing intuition and inner clarity) and Gatak (who “moves endlessly between cultivation and desire, planting and harvesting, seeking and resisting”). Refined brushwork and layered acrylic surfaces heighten this emotional landscape.
To 13 January.

The Comedy Lab @ Easy Tiger
2025-12-16 20:00 - 23:30 | Al Ain Palace Hotel, Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi
MadCat’s standup team at its regular stop in the Easy Tiger bar in Abu Dhabi’s Al Ain Palace. The door price of AED 99 includes two drinks …

LAST CHANCE Whispers of Play
2025-12-16 | Volery Gallery, Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai
A group show for three young Japanese artists that celebrates the playful sensibility at the heart of contemporary Japanese expression – “a sensibility that transforms familiarity into wonder, nostalgia into dream” as the gallery has it.
These artists have used Japanese pop culture and anime icons as emotional textures rather than cultural symbols. Each work becomes a quiet act of translation, between inner and outer worlds, between collective memory and personal reverie. Yukari Nishi constructs scenes of estrangement and longing in a dreamlike vision of mid-century America with faceless, non-human figures and cinematic settings. Koichi Yairi creates collages with irregularly shaped canvases and translucent layers to translate fragments of daily life into abstract narratives. NANA SAIAKU’s works recall the fragility of emotion and the resilience of youth.

Steinway Series: Ilya Shmukler – Schumann
2025-12-14 20:00 - 21:30 | Dubai Opera Studio, Downtown Dubai, Dubai
The internationally acclaimed pianist, once a child prodigo and now an established favourite known for technical brilliance combined with passion and imagination, performs a programme of Schumann pieces – one Clara but mostly Robert, with the monumental Symphonic Études to finish:
Robert Schumann: “Blumenstück” in D-flat major, op.19
Clara Schumann: Nocturne in F major, op.6, no.2
Robert Schumann : “Novellette” in F-sharp Minor, op.21, no.8
Robert Schumann: “Symphonic Études” in C-sharp minor, op.13

The Unfriend
2025-12-14 19:30 - 21:30 | The Junction, Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The final performance for Steven Moffat’s black comedy of manners, boundaries, and exquisitie embarassment. The final show is on 14 December.

1 Minute to Krushit
2025-12-14 19:00 - 22:00 | TGIFriday’s at the Rove Hotel Downtown, 312 Al Mustaqbal Street, Dubai
1M2K returns with the comedy game show where around 15 standups get just one minute to make you laugh – and you choose the winner too. Admission is free, but there’s a minimum spend of AED 25 per person.

Focal Point 2025
2025-12-14 10:00 - 16:00 | Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, Arts Square, Sharjah
The eighth and biggest edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s art book fair – the region’s only book fair dedicated to publishing about art, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (12 to 14 December at Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, 10am to 4pm each day). The fair invited several community leaders, artists, graphic designers and independent practitioners to present a selection of publications from their respective cultural ecosystems at Focal Point; there will also be workshops on sketching, writing and zine-making, in addition to conversations, readings, presentations and meet-and-greet sessions. Always buzzy in a laid-back way, and well worth a visit.

The Yemenis Orchestra
2025-12-14 08:00 - 17:00 | Dubai Opera
The Yemenis Orchestra, led by its noted conductor Mohamed Al-Ghoom, is dedicated to preserving and promoting Yemen’s rich musical heritage. It grew out of Al-Ghoom’s Heritage Symphonies project, aiming to integrate traditional Yemeni music with orchestral arrangement, and the results are impressive. Given the ticket prices, that’s just as well …

Dubai Opera Jazz Studio: Roger Ryan
2025-12-13 22:30 - 23:30 | Dubai Opera Studio, Downtown Dubai, Dubai
The last gig this year for Dubai Opera’s late-evening jazz bar features jazz, R&B, neo-soul and gospel from the singer, producer, and keyboard player (he also teaches at Berklee Abu Dhabi). The door price includes one drink.

Jazz at The Island: Mayssa Karaa and Las Migas
2025-12-13 20:30 - 23:00 | Al Noor Island, Buhairah Corniche Road, Khalid Lagoon, Sharjah
Second of near-jazz gigs on consecutive nights at Al Noor Island. This one features Ars Nova Napoli (below), the Italian nu-folk funsters (traditional Neapolitan rhythms with a modern twist) who really do know how to throw a party; and the Cuban cellist, singer and composer Ana Carla Maza (top), hailed as one of Latin America’s most promising young jazz talents for her blend of Latin jazz, bossa nova and tango. Highly recommended.
Performances start at 8.30pm, but doors open at 6pm and there are free guided tours of the island and the chance to sample the F&B – the organisers suggest “you arrive early to enjoy the tours and pre-event experiences, as spaces are limited”. Single-night tickets are AED 130, but there’s a both-gigs deal at AED 225.

Jazz at The Island: Mayssa Karaa and Las Migas
2025-12-13 20:30 - 23:00 | Al Noor Island, Buhairah Corniche Road, Khalid Lagoon, Sharjah
First of two jazz-ish gigs on consecutive nights at Al Noor Island. This one features the Lebanese-American singer-songwriter (and Artistic Director of Berklee Abu Dhabi) Mayssa Karaa (above); fluent in eight languages and with hits in several of them, she has performed on major stages from Los Angeles to Dubai with a dynamic fusion of Arabic, world and pop influences. Sharing the stage is Las Migas, a genuinely exciting all-female flamenco fusion quartet from Barcelona; expect flamenco redefined with modern rhythms and fiery energy.
Performances start at 8.30pm, but doors open at 6pm and there are free guided tours of the island and the chance to sample the F&B – the organisers suggest “you arrive early to enjoy the tours and pre-event experiences, as spaces are limited”. Single-night tickets are AED 130, but there’s a both-gigs deal at AED 225.

Franz Ferdinand
2025-12-13 20:00 - 22:00 | Coca-Cola Arena, City Walk, Dubai
Always one of the more interesting indie bands, Franz Ferdinand went through a bit of a mid-career trough; but the January 2025 release of their sixth album, The Human Fear, was a return to form (with a new drummer and an additional guitarist to invigorate the band). Frontman Alex Kapranos is still writing articulate, interestiung lyrics with his chaarcteristic inbnate ability to find great pop tunes – and no doubt this gig will include some of the bangers from the early years (Take Me Out is one of the all-time greats IMO).

The Unfriend
2025-12-13 19:30 - 21:30 | The Junction, Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
A second performance for Steven Moffat’s black comedy of manners, boundaries, and exquisitie embarassment. The final show is on 14 December.

Dubai Motorcycle Film Festival
2025-12-13 17:00 - 21:30 | Warehouse Four, Al Quoz, Dubai
The fifth edition of the only film festival in Dubai “exclusively dedicated to screening short films focussed on motorcycles” (it expanded in 2025 to London and is planned to launch in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur next year). It kicks off with Café Rider’s Bikers’ BBQ prior to the main screening at 5.30pm just outside Warehouse Four; film screenings start at 7pm, and this year’s films include Forrest Minchinton’s Further, a personal riff on motorcycles and surfing (“this happy combination of my two loves”: still above): Hey Kid by Daniel Stark, “a letter to my younger self” in the form of a Canadian motorbike adventure story (“you’re gonna need a machine – a freedom machine”); and Green Legacy from Indonesian director Jeremia Vega, a collective effort from two motorcycle communities in Indonesia encouraging fellow riders to care more deeply for the land they move through …

SAF Book Club Meetup: The State of Publishing
2025-12-13 16:00 - 18:00 | Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, Arts Square, Sharjah
Held during Focal Point, Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual art book fair, this special session of SAF’s always interesting book club looks at the realities of contemporary publishing from independent presses to shifts in digital technology via AI and self-publishing.

Restless Circle: Tour and Conversation
2025-12-13 15:00 - 17:00 | Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah
What goes into conceptualising and curating a solo exhibition? Artist Afra Al Dhaheri and curator May Al Qaydi lead an enquiry-based tour of Al Dhaheri’s current exhibition Restless Circle (ends tomorrow, 14 December), followed by a conversation between the two that offers insight into the artist’s process and her collaboration with the curator.
