Top-quality improv from a British troupe of regulars (Stephen Frost, Steve Steen, Andy Smart, and Ian Coppinger) with no script and not the faintest idea of what will happen. They're very, very good; this show is part of the Dubai [ ... ]
Nasrallah’s solo show is a mythical exploration of the relationship between humans and machines. Through a collection of intricate drawings, paintings, publications, textiles, and installations, the UAE-based artist takes us on a journey into a world of mechanical creatures that [ ... ]
Marking the second year of collaboration between 421 and NYUAD, the exhibition showcases the research and experimentation of the inaugural cohort of students completing the two-year Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media at NYUAD: For Elizabeth Dorazio, nature [ ... ]
Originally trained as a classical choral singer, Griffith is a working-class comedian, actor and choirboy from Grimsby (he was a presenter on Sky Sports show Soccer AM until the end of the 2018–19 season). A stand-up favourite, he has toured [ ... ]
Raunchy humour and no filters from the Iraqi-American Paul Elia and Canadian Dave Merheje: definitely not suitable for children – “nothing is off limits”. This is a Dubai Comedy Festival Show.
A conversation with attorney Vanja Mégevand, founder of AI-based legal tech company Lawrence Legal, discussing the changing landscape of art collecting and the challenges and practices that collectors and patrons face in their interactions with artists, galleries, and institutions. Expect [ ... ]
The Indian comic (aka The Married Guy) has clocked up 100 million views across his social media platforms. Generally observational in style, his comedy crosses global boundaries; this Dubai Comedy Festival show – in English, incidentally – is an interwoven [ ... ]
The Middle East’s best (and longest-running) poetry and performance open mic night enters its second decade with original material from spoken word artists, poets, and musicians. Rooftop Rhythms is hosted by Jaysus Zain with opening and closing DJ sets by [ ... ]
The Egyptian actress and stand-up comic entertains with her spin on motherhood, womanhood, and all things related. Joining her on the same bill are Reem Nabil and Ahmed El Hareedy (host). This is a Dubai Comedy Festival Show.
Romanò combines artistic creativity with his skills in restoration and preservation. He works with antique mirrors and frames, transforming used pieces of framed mirrors into whole new entities; “Romanò’s ‘mirrors could look rich and beautiful, yet they are extremely fragile, [ ... ]
Musicians from the largest youth orchestra in the region and finalists from the recent National Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition 2023 perform classical favourites and an exclusive premiere of the NYO’s new Vivaldi Four Seasons Project, with solo performances by several [ ... ]
Faustin Linyekula is a contemporary dancer and choreographer whose style incorporates the quick, syncopated rhythms of the West African dance style of Ndombolo. Linyekula’s focus is on notions of loss, memory and the legacies of war and terror; exploring the [ ... ]
One of the best of India’s funnymen – the New York Times called him “India’s most intelligent comedian”, the BBC said he was “India’s answer to British wit”, the Guardian said he was “very clever, very funny”. The Nation Wants [ ... ]
An immersive musical journey through some of the best-love songs of France, including hits by the likes of of Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Dalida, Joe Dassin & other legends, delivered Lady J and her jazz trio. This is at ToDA, [ ... ]
The very excellent monthly get-together for creative folk from the region turns to fashion: a panel of industry heavyweights share expertise and opinions about the business, about building a sustainable label, and about the challenges and opportunities that Dubai brings. [ ... ]
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is getting into its stride now; it's still basically a commercial environment where publishers and distributors make deals, but in the last few years it has developed into a celebration of reading and writing [ ... ]
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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your name on the guestlist [ ... ]
Bady Dalloul's solo show comprises a series of 200 miniature drawings displayed inside pocket matchboxes. The vividly coloured and seemingly childlike images sharply contrast with the harsh reality of the stories they depict of the Syrian civil war; by re-appropriating [ ... ]
This solo exhibition explores themes of uniformity, replication, flatness, originality, fiction, and exclusivity within the frame of each painting, but also between the different frames, and throughout the overall arrangement of the works. The deliberate arrangement of the paintings, with [ ... ]
Lamya Gargash’s fifth solo show at the gallery celebrates the artist’s poetics of space, recounting human experiences throughout different geographies without the direct presence of the human figure. “Photographing selections of objects, furniture pieces, window details, and wall trimmings speaks [ ... ]
An immersive evening at the Theatre of Digital Art – digitised projected art ("the masterpieces of the greatest artists of the 20th century") is accompanied live by Soren Lyng Hansen on cello, double bass and piano. He is very good, [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
An evening that claims to “break the norms of conventional electronic music shows in the Middle East region, to create something above and beyond” via “a unique experience and atmosphere based on a unison of light, sound and technologies”. The [ ... ]
Born in Jamaica, raised in the British RnB and then Northern Soul scenes, Roy Young has a terrific voice for soul and great stage presence. He gigs with the Alexey Cheremizov Jazz Quartet. Doors open at 7pm, Young is on [ ... ]
Jazz at the Theatre of Digital Art with Lady J and her trio. We're promised "a sparkling arrangement of the Grooviest Classics together with jazzed-up Radio Hits in 360° space" ...
To end this third season of the UAE Classical Talents recitals, violinist Nicolas Mann and pianist Olga Kirpicheva promise us a Romantic journey with music from the key composers of the period.
Third Half Theatre and Movement Mantra are reprising their original 2019 dance-theatre production to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease. Movement Mantra ‘s founder, movement coach Vonita Singh, has been championing the Parkinson’s cause in the UAE for the last 10 [ ... ]
This premiere by the New Zealand contemporary dance company Black Grace was commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation for SB15; it’s a development of the company’s 2009 work Gathering Clouds, which responded to prejudice and xenophobia against Pacific migrants in New [ ... ]
Aspiring actress and young jazz musician find love in Los Angeles. Yes, it's the plot of La-La Land, and City of Stars ∼ which also happens to be one of the better songs from the soundtrack – is an adaptation [ ... ]
The first of two films by the Canadian documentary maker gives voice to first nation citizens concerned about the environmental and cultural impact of unprecedented mining industry developments on Aboriginal lands. This is a Sharjah Biennial 15 Film Programme screening.
"Modern classics that speak to your heart ... Relive the most precious moments of your life" with virtuoso pianist Fyodor Biryuchev, who promises to revive "memories that truly matter. First love. Heartbreak. The joy of reunion. The moments of profound [ ... ]
A second and final show for this reprise of the Third Half Theatre and Movement Mantra dance-theatre production that aims to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease. Movement Mantra ‘s founder, movement coach Vonita Singh, has been championing the Parkinson’s cause [ ... ]
The second of two films by Cousineau explores the death of a young Inuk man, Solomon Tapatiaq Uyarasuk, who is found dead in a remote Inuit community. The locals suspect murder, but the police suggest suicide. As the film investigates [ ... ]
Sharjah Art Foundation presents the Queen of Western Sahara Desert Blues Aziza Brahim and her Tabal Quartet live in Sharjah as part of the Sharjah Biennial 15 Music Programme. Born and raised in the Saharawi refugee camps on the frontier [ ... ]
Matinee and evening performances (2pm and 7.30pm) for this musical adaptation of La-La Land by Yasseen Ashri, who also directs The Greenroom youth theatre group.
In northwest Tunisia, young women work the summer harvest. Largely improvised and set on a single day, this film by Erige Sehiri (who is perhaps better known as a documentary maker) packs argument, gossip, romance and social criticism into a [ ... ]
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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your name on the guestlist [ ... ]
7pm Without Her|Bi Roya dir Arian Vazirdaftari (2023) Just two weeks before Roya is set to emigrate from Iran to Denmark, she encounters a quiet young girl who appears to be lost and doesn’t remember anything. Roya takes her in, [ ... ]
A group show that celebrates printmaking practices in the UAE, especially "the inherent experimental potential and various techniques available to artists working today". From the gallery's press release: Dubai-based illustrator and printmaker Azim Al Ghussein experiments with image making methods [ ... ]
7pm Foragers dir Jumana Manna (2022) Shot in the Golan Heights, the Galilee and Jerusalem, the film employs fiction, documentary and archival footage to capture the joy and knowledge embodied in the traditions of foraging for wild edible plants alongside the [ ... ]
You probably won't have more fun in the theatre this year: based on ("ripped off from") the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this highly irreverent musical parody of Arthurian legend has lyrics and book by Python's Eric [ ... ]
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 group show by six African artists presenting “a captivating and thought-provoking collection of artworks that highlight the diverse landscapes and thematic intersections of African art across generations … The exhibition offers a glimpse into the complex histories, traditions, and [ ... ]
This exhibition marks the first duo show for Emirati brothers Talal Al Najjar and Ziad Al Najjar. They each maintain a distinct individual artistic practice, but developed in close proximity to one another; and both draw upon their relationship to [ ... ]
“Books alone can’t save the world,” says the blurb for this new book club. “But passionate readers can.” At the opening event of what we’re told will be a regular LitFest-style session with “renowned authors from around the world”, the [ ... ]
7pm 19B dir Ahmad Abdalla (2022) The richly-layered narrative centres on the elderly caretaker of an abandoned Cairo villa known as 19B. The owners have been absent for so long that no one even knows how to contact them, and the [ ... ]
A second performance of this highly irreverent musical parody of Arthurian legend, based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail with lyrics and book by Python's Eric Idle and a score by Idle and John Du Prez. [ ... ]
MTDXB (Musical Theatre Dubai) is – as far as we know – the first and only adult theatre group in Dubai to specialise in musicals. Formed in 2021, they have done four performances to date, and they tend to be [ ... ]
Tchaikovsky’s all-time crowdpleaser is danced by the Moscow Ballet “La Classique”. Expect ballet mastery, lavish costumes, and magnificent stage sets; "La Classique" specialises in sumptuous, unashamedly traditional touring productions of which this must be one of the most classic ... [ ... ]
Superb soul and gospel, and purveyor of one of the best Nina Simone tributes (one of her ten albums). Her voice is sensational; "I could listen to this lady all day" said a Jazz Weekly reviewer. She sings with the [ ... ]
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