• Joke Hub

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

    A regular Mad Cat Comedy night – "Dubai's wildest comedy show on Saturday" at "the first purpose built comedy room in the country". The cover charge of AED 99 includes two F&B coupons.

    AED 99
  • LAST CHANCE Khozema Al-Aaed: We Walk on Stories

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Khozema Al‑Aaed's solo exhibition reimagines cartographies, reminding us that land absorbs our movements, our wounds, our hopes, "becoming a living archive of human presence" as the gallery puts it. "The compositions resemble traces of cities once inhabited, imagined, or departed. [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Studio One Hotel Dubai Studio City, Dubai

    The regular Abu Dhabi stop for the Laughter Factory's May tour, with an earlier-than-usual start: Rory O'Hanlon as Irish as his name suggest: described by Chortle as having “presence, poise and timing”, he's famous for his rapid-fire delivery and the [ ... ]

    AED 140
  • Sunday Night Comedy

    Social Distrikt The Pointe, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

    Dubomedy's highly successful comedy gig at Hushh in Social Distrikt. We're promised "a fantastic lineup of comedians, big laughs, and great vibes"; and indeed much of that seems to be the case ... It's free, but there's a minimum spend [ ... ]

    Free, but min spend of one item
  • X Fest DXB: weekend 4

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

    The fourth weekend for the Junction's short play festival: each weekend features 10 to 11 original 10-minute plays, meaning audiences will get the chance to see a diverse lineup of stories, styles and performances in a single evening. Overall you [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • Same Air

    Tabari Artspace Gate Village Level 2, DIFC, Dubai

    A group exhibition bringing together 14 artists from the Gulf, presenting works connected by the same place and the same moment. "Without a prescribed theme or formal directive they began to create. The works that came forth, unfinished, unresolved, and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Art Seeding Festival: Al Khayat Chapter

    Al Khayat Avenue 10 19 Street, Al Quoz, Dubai

    An interesting concept: "art can be 'seeded' into the urban environment, where it evolves over time through interaction with people, space, and context ... Rather than presenting finished works within gallery walls, the festival invites artists to engage directly with [ ... ]

    Free
  • Farshid Shafiey, Atieh Sohrab, Baran Shafiey: All in the Family

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A group show for three artists whose work here explores the dialogue that emerges between generations of artists, revealing how personal histories, cultural memory, and individual artistic languages intersect. Through painting and illustration, the artists reflect on themes of identity, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Kevork Mourad: The Echoes of Silent Bells

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors and raised in Syria, Mourad approaches his work with a profound sense of responsibility to preserve culture and history; his practice aims to give voice to places that no longer exist, offering an interpretation [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sultan Bin Fahad: Blue Note

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    This exhibition by the Saudi artist embraces the experimentation of jazz, commemorating its role as an audiovisual gathering for culture to flourish from and exact its designs on the world as it moved from older models of audiovisual art – [ ... ]

    Free
  • Fridge Concert Series 49: Sandra Ivette

    The Fridge Warehouse Warehouse 5, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The very cool, very classy Cuban artist Sandra Ivette plays bass and sings at the same time, leading her six-piece band through son, trova, danzón, and jazz. She's premiering her debut album Comienzo, never performed live until now ... Advance [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • The Comedy Lab @ Easy Tiger

    Al Ain Palace Hotel Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Mad Cat’s standup team at their regular stop at the Easy Tiger bar in Abu Dhabi's Al Ain Palace. The door price of AED 99 includes two drinks ...

    AED 99
  • Un monde merveilleux: dir Giulio Callegari (2024)

    Alliance Française Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Three more performances of this sharp, witty, very urban contemporary comedy of relationships. Worn down by 25 years together, Xavier and Sophie seem to be running on empty: neighbours Adèle and Alban come round for dinner, and these uninhibited people [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • Time That Grows Slowly

    Dom Art Projects Al Khayat Avenue, Dubai

    A group exhibition based around site-specific installations and considering ecological, feminist, philosophical, and postcolonial concerns. The core inspiration however is “philosophical reflections of time as growth rather than movement ... Time, as humans experience it, is inseparable from the vegetal. [ ... ]

    Free
  • Petr Kirusha: Every moment is a fresh beginning

    Dom Art Projects Al Khayat Avenue, Dubai

    A solo show featuring works that Petr Kirusha developed during his residency at Dom Art Projects. At a time of heightened geopolitical tension between the US and Iran, Kirusha documented the landscapes of Al Quoz and the rapidly changing cityscape [ ... ]

    Free
  • Inherited Lines

    La Galerie, Alliance Française Dubai Alliance Française Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Combining language, heritage, and expression, the world of Arabic calligraphy offers centuries of tradition for artists to draw upon. Curated by DiarBid ArtHouse and presented by Dubai Culture and Alliance Française Dubai, this exhibition features established artists, calligraphers, and instructors [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rana Begum: Boundless Geometry

    Farjam Foundation Gate Avenue 3, GF-97, DIFC, Dubai

    Selected works from the Farjam Collection. Through a refined language of Minimalist abstraction, the London-based artist blurs the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture – "bringing together works that explore light, colour, perception, and spatial experience, the exhibition reflects Rana [ ... ]

    Free
  • Noritoshi Mitsuuchi: Bloom

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

    A solo exhibition by Noritoshi Mitsuuchi, whose paintings "unfold as living worlds where forms gently emerge from within one another, expanding, dissolving, and reappearing in a continuous state of becoming". Drawing on motifs that evoke plant life, his imagery suggests [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sweet Bean: dir Naomi Kawase (2015)

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    A quiet, compassionate story of human connection. Sentaro runs a small dorayaki shop, living a routine life until Tokue, an elderly woman, asks to help in the kitchen. Her exceptional skill in making sweet red bean paste transforms the business [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    The Courtyard's popular 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 with [ ... ]

    Free
  • Shalabia Ibrahim: Fields of Memory

    Artbooth Gallery Centro Capital Center, Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street, Abu Dhabi

    A solo exhibition promising “a rare and intimate journey into a visual language shaped by the intersections of Egyptian and Syrian modernities”. Born in Egypt and long based in Syria, Ibrahim’s practice is informed by the visual traditions of the [ ... ]

    Free
  • Cats

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    The spectacular (and spectacularly successful) Andrew Lloyd Webber musical settles into Etihad Arena for two consecutive long weekends. Look for decent songs, great choreography and staging, and a well-paced plot (not always the case with musicals ...) Friday/Saturday prices start [ ... ]

    From AED 90
  • Once Upon A Tune: Carnival of the Animals

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

    The UAE National Orchestra's first family concert promises to take us "into a world where music becomes story, and imagination takes centre stage". It looks a well-constructed programme: Part 1: Introduction to Music Children are invited to explore what music is [ ... ]

    AED 65
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

    First of two consecutive nights at the Radisson for the Laughter Factory's May tour – note the earlier-than-usual start: Rory O'Hanlon as Irish as his name suggest: described by Chortle as having “presence, poise and timing”, he's famous for his [ ... ]

    AED 140
  • Maktaba: A Speculative Thought Circle II

    421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Maktaba is 421's monthly gathering dedicated to collective reading, viewing, and discussion across disciplines. For this second iteration, multidisciplinary and performance artist Yoonsik Chico Park leads a dialogue around performance studies: together, participants will "examine, synthesise, and speculate the alternative [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Said Effendi: dir Kameran Hosni (1956)

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Set in 1950s Baghdad, this highly-rated film follows a schoolteacher who moves his family to a modest new neighbourhood after being forced to leave their former home. As tensions with a neighbour escalate from childhood disputes into open conflict, Said [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Shift & Play Night

    Warehouse 34 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    "A playful, interactive experience where style meets reflection, connection, and a whole lot of fun ..." It all hangs on the Shift Happens cards, which encourage you to explore your wardrobe and fashion preferences with dares, truths, and prompts that [ ... ]

    Free
  • Jukebox Junction

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

    The Junction's comedy-plus-improv evening features two top Dubai standups, Viswajit Dilip and Luca Cupani; then there's live improv with Adi Thomas and his troupe. "Expect an evening of laughter, surprises, and pure comedic energy ..."

    AED 100
  • LAST CHANCE All at Once

    JD Malat Gallery ACT 2 Tower, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Blvd 13A ,Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    A group exhibition that reflects on continuity, resilience, and quiet optimism at a time when the world can feel uncertain. Says the gallery: "All at Once speaks to the coexistence of multiple realities – personal and shared, fleeting and enduring, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Moza Al Falasi: Unfolding

    Tashkeel Alserkal Avenue Warehouse 58, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    This first solo exhibition by the Emirati artist explores memory, loss, and the passing of time, inviting reflection on how personal and inherited experiences leave their mark on who we are. She uses photography as her primary means of documentation, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Art Dubai Special Edition

    Madinat Jumeirah Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Art Dubai’s rescheduled 2026 incarnation has a basic shape as before – a fair with Contemporary, Modern and Digital gallery sections – but there are some significant changes. For a start, of course, there are many fewer commercial galleries involved: [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Sentimental Value: dir Joachim Trier (2025)

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Winner of the Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes, followed by the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and BAFTA recognition, this is something of a masterpiece from Trier: the Rotten Tomatoes summary is to the point – [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

    A second night at the Radisson for the Laughter Factory's May tour: Rory O'Hanlon as Irish as his name suggest: described by Chortle as having “presence, poise and timing”, he's famous for his rapid-fire delivery and the sheer quantity of [ ... ]

    AED 140
  • Short+Sweet Dubai: People’s Choice Semi-Finals

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    The semi finals weekend of the festival of 10-minute plays, today being for the People's Choices. The best playlets will return to compete for the top prizes on the Gala Weekend, 23-24 May. Times, dates, prices: 3.00-5.00pm 16 May AED [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • Short+Sweet Dubai: Judge’s Choice Semi-Finals

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    The semi finals weekend of the festival of 10-minute plays, today being for the Judge's Choices. The best playlets will return to compete for the top prizes on the Gala Weekend, 23-24 May. Times, dates, prices: 3.00-5.00pm 17 May AED 150 [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • LAST CHANCE Maggie Otieno: Sojourner – The Difference Is the Same

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

    Otieno’s first solo presentation with Efie centres on her signature transformation of reclaimed and distressed materials. Working across wood, metal, and mixed media, her semi-abstract forms explore layered narratives of history, memory, human interaction, and environmental survival.

    Free
  • Safwan Dahoul – The Eye: An Aperture Into the Soul

    Ayyam Gallery B11, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Safwan Dahoul’s most recent body of work continues his Dream series – an ongoing body of work investigating the dream state that he began back in the late 1980s, exploring "the physical and psychological effects of alienation, solitude, and longing [ ... ]

    Free
  • In Abstracto, In Concreto: On Memory and Presence

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

    A summer-long group show for Luke Agada, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Ludovic Nkoth, and Naila Opiangah, curated by Brice Arsène Yonkeu – whose curatorial statement defines the show as "an encounter with works on paper and paintings that move between visibility and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Collage Art Exhibition

    Kutubna Cultural Center Madina Avenues 17, Nadd Al Hamar, Dubai

    More than 70 artworks for 43 artists, included those who responded to an open call – "a bold exploration of contemporary collage art" says Kutubna, promising "work with paint, paper, textiles, photography, digital collage, and found materials to build layered [ ... ]

    Free
  • Postcard Poems with Balqees Alhawamdeh

    421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Writer and poet Balqees Alhawamdeh invites participants to explore poetry in an approachable and creative way by crafting a short poem as a visual composition using colour, collage, and form. It starts with a line from a poem or a [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Flow: dir Gints Zilbalodis (2024)

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    An absolutely stunning low-budget (and largely handmade) antidote to Disneyfication – 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 strong [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Human After All: AI, Creativity & the Future of Connection

    Warehouse 34 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Mo Gawdat – entrepreneur, author, podcaster, software engineer, and one-time Google X exec – talks with former Sky News presenter Sally Lockwood. Expect a conversation exploring creativity, technology, optimism, and what it means to stay human in an increasingly artificial [ ... ]

    Free
  • X Fest DXB: weekend 4

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

    The penultimate weekend for the Junction's short play festival: if you've been attending all performances, you could have seen something like 70 original 10-minute plays by now ... The strongest return to the stage to compete for the top honours [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • X Fest DXB: weekend 4

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

    The penultimate weekend for the Junction's short play festival: if you've been attending all performances, you could have seen something like 70 original 10-minute plays by now ... The strongest return to the stage to compete for the top honours [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

    The final gig for the Laughter Factory's May tour: Rory O'Hanlon as Irish as his name suggest: described by Chortle as having “presence, poise and timing”, he's famous for his rapid-fire delivery and the sheer quantity of jokes in his [ ... ]

    AED 140
  • Joke Hub

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

    A regular Mad Cat Comedy night – "Dubai's wildest comedy show on Saturday" at "the first purpose built comedy room in the country". The cover charge of AED 99 includes two F&B coupons.

    AED 99
  • The Art of Standup / Find the Funny

    Warehouse 34 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Dubai comedy heavyweight Miqdaad Dohadwala (main man at Mad Cat Comedy) explores stand-up as a serious creative craft, has some practical advice to would-be comics, and offers thoughts about why Dubai’s comedy scene is so strong right now. This chat [ ... ]

    Free
  • Carmen in Concert

    Dubai Opera

    An evening of the best-known arias and orchestral moments from Bizet's evergreen opera: "the concert brings to life the spirit, passion, and dramatic intensity that have made one of the most beloved operas in the world ... Performed as a [ ... ]

    From AED 225