Oblong’s 2024 kicks off with a group show featuring work in a variety of media from a disparate group of six (mostly Italian or Italy-based) artists: Roberta Diazzi Italy 3D portraits of endangered animals using Swarovski crystal Resi Girardello Italy [ ... ]
A solo show for the Rome-based Lebanese fashion accessories designer who has developed a fertile sideline as an artist with a characteristic style – expressionist and figurative narratives rendered with abstract forms and lines in both bold and muted colours, [ ... ]
The second show for this world-premiere ballet and video art performance – four professional dancers (Maria Vinogradova, Mila Schmidt, Gabriele Aime, Ildar Gaynutdinov) with choreography by Eno Peci, dancing to Vivaldi's Four Seasons and accompanied by state-of-the-art 5K visuals from [ ... ]
The first Laughter Factory of the year has the stand-up mix much as usual, except there's no Abu Dhabi appearance this time. The comics: Keith Johnson LA-based, less frenetic and more thoughtful than many American comics Eleanor Tiernan top Irish [ ... ]
Riffing on the interwoven relationship between cities, the natural environment and the sacred, this show presents work by 12 artists and collectives working across diverse contexts of urban, rural, domestic, communitarian, public and non-material spaces. Sheher, Prakriti, Devi comes from [ ... ]
New work by the Syrian artist aims to capture the echoes of thoughts, ideas and experiences of the cities he's lived in: Damascus, Beirut and Istanbul. "His work reflects and expresses the amalgamation of human and urban relationships within each [ ... ]
Ten days of Emirati culture, past and present, in what is probably the traditional heart of Abu Dhabi. There are performances, souks, F&B, arts and crafts, family workshops, camels, and more ... It's open 4pm to 11pm every day.
The Filipino indie rock/bedroom pop band Merge play their last UAE gig. Also on the bill: R&B/jazz act Kelly and more indie rock from the underrated Charlie 119.
After sold-out performances at Dubai Opera in 2018, 2019, and 2023, the Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi – one of the best-selling classical artists of all time – is back in Dubai for a three-night stint. Born in Turin, [ ... ]
In this performance piece, Essia Jaïbi revisits the memories seared into her mind since childhood – she locks her mother, Jalila Baccar, in the glass-walled dressing room of an imagined theatre and pressures her to address the audience. Devised as [ ... ]
Second of three gigs for the first Laughter Factory of the year. The comics: Keith Johnson LA-based, less frenetic and more thoughtful than many American comics Eleanor Tiernan top Irish comedian, loads of experience, a comedy festival regular Saanya Abbas [ ... ]
The Jameel is running a third season of Night School, a seminar programme where UAE residents can discuss urbanism and history in Dubai. Under this season's theme, There You Are, participants will assess how much we can know about a [ ... ]
"A transformative musical experience at 360°" featuring a virtuoso pianist playing modern classics by the likes of Hans Zimmer, Yanni Chryssomallis, and Yann Tiersen, accompanied by ToDA's 360° visuals ...
This new open-air musical event series (in a purpose-built venue that will "boast a stunning backdrop of Saadiyat Island vistas" – though otherwise we're not sure exactly where it is) continues with a concert from the iconic Iranian pop singer. [ ... ]
A second night (of three) for the Italian composer and pianist, one of the best-selling classical artists of all time. He performs again on 21 January.
A second performance of Essia Jaïbi's exploration of the memories seared into her mind since childhood – she locks her mother, Jalila Baccar, in the glass-walled dressing room of an imagined theatre and pressures her to address the audience. Devised [ ... ]
The final gig in the first Laughter Factory of the year. The comics: Keith Johnson LA-based, less frenetic and more thoughtful than many American comics Eleanor Tiernan top Irish comedian, loads of experience, a comedy festival regular Saanya Abbas staple [ ... ]
An evening of jazz at ToDA, which means immersive 360° visuals to accompany "four world-class jazzmen weave together jazz, pop & rock into a sonic earthquake", from Summertime and Moon river to Ain’t no sunshine ...
The final night (of three) for the Italian composer and pianist, one of the best-selling classical artists of all time.
Dubomedy's regular Sunday evening stand-up gig has quickly become established, not least because it's free (you do have to pre-register to get on the list) and always entertaining – you never know who you're going to see, and while the [ ... ]
A final performance of Essia Jaïbi's exploration of the memories seared into her mind since childhood – she locks her mother, Jalila Baccar, in the glass-walled dressing room of an imagined theatre and pressures her to address the audience. Devised [ ... ]
A solo show by the Palestinian visual artist, curated by Munira Al Sayegh, which "invites viewers to explore the profound connections between material, the body, the context and the artist’s personal journey as a Gazan native in exile". Gauze offers [ ... ]
Wincoer's gently searing drama is loosely based on the Bataclan concert hall attack in Paris in 2015 (her brother was a survivor). Virginie Efira is excellent as Mia, a woman struggling with the trauma of having survived a brutal assault [ ... ]
An all-new MadCatComedy lineup for this standup up "with a few international dropins". The ticket price includes a free drink.
This should be a good night: Bull Funk Zoo is usually excellent, mixing hard rock with funk and some indie strains of occasional psychedelia. But frankly it is mostly hard rock: "imagine a big bad bull rocking out, fornicating & [ ... ]
An occupational nurse in a chemical plant turns whistleblower over toxic discharges but has to balance fighting for the truth against the risk of alienating her entire family. The result could be a goodies vs baddies thriller or a dogmatic [ ... ]
A suitably explicit title for a group show of Elmarsa artists – or to put it another way, "a comprehensive exploration of the artistic endeavours undertaken by the gallery's esteemed cadre of represented artists". On display: Jellal Ben Abdallah, Nejib [ ... ]
A spectacular dance/circus interpretation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s fable of an aviator who lands in the middle of the desert and meets the Little Prince, who’s travelling from one planet to another looking for his sheep. We're told that this [ ... ]
An exhibition of posters produced specifically for this exhibition by 26 artists who come together to shed light on the ethnic cleansing and horrific massacres taking place in the Gaza Strip and to demand the recognition of Palestinian rights to [ ... ]
Dubai is finally getting a light festival. The inaugural Dhai Dubai Light Art Festival features installations by seven established Emirati artists and runs for 10 nights (26 January to 4 February, 6 to 11pm) in Expo City's Al Wasl Plaza. [ ... ]
The UAE's annual festival of Palestinian stories delivered via independent and alternative cinema is back, and with massively enhanced relevance. The films, mostly in Arabic with English subtitles, are ... The Teacher dir Farah Nabulsi (2023) A Palestinian school teacher [ ... ]
A new year of Alliance Française’s series of chamber recitals by locally based musicians continues with the return of soprano Isabel Cañada Luna, accompanied by two UAE Classical Talents newcomers – Enkhmaa Tuvshin (cello) and Pin-Chun Linis (piano) – in [ ... ]
A second performance of this spectacular dance/circus interpretation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s fable of an aviator who lands in the middle of the desert and meets the Little Prince, who’s travelling from one planet to another looking for his sheep. [ ... ]
This Arab World Premiere kicks off this year’s Abu Dhabi Festival. It’s a reimagined version of The Nutcracker, and it is an established part of the repertoire of a company noted for its dazzling hybrid of western ballet and Chinese [ ... ]
Standup at The Irish Village, featuring two sharp Irish comics – Ian Coppinger and Eric Lalor – plus Dubai's very own Miqdaad Dohadwala.
In Libya, Radouan Mriziga collaborates with dancers to elaborate on transgenerational shared histories and epistemologies from an Amazigh perspective, where the memories of the body play a pivotal role (the Amazighs are the indigenous inhabitants of the North African littoral, [ ... ]
Following a couple of sell-out UAE shows in 2022, Schalk Bezuidenhout is back in town – older and now married, but still keen to stay “hip with the youth”. But can he ‘keep up’? Bezuidenhout, one of the most exciting [ ... ]
Two more performances of this spectacular dance/circus interpretation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s fable of an aviator who lands in the middle of the desert and meets the Little Prince, who’s travelling from one planet to another looking for his sheep. [ ... ]
In a departure from his usual vibrant collages, Butler's new work speaks of meticulous craftsmanship in fine line ink and graphite to create detailed contemporary representations of some of Dubai’s most well-known cityscapes: “upon deeper reflection, a captivating and intricately [ ... ]
Two further performances for this Abu Dhabi Festival opener, a reimagined version of The Nutcracker from a company noted for its dazzling hybrid of western ballet and Chinese culture. Tchaikovsky’s score is the backbone to a colourful tale brought to [ ... ]
The title of this concert certainly sets the bar high, though it seems a pretty good selection of the composer's works for piano. The pianist is Magdalena Wajdzik, and the other plus is the way these recitals are lit by [ ... ]
Quoz Arts Fest returns for its 11th edition, filling Alserkal Avenue with music, food and family-friendly fun for two days. The Quoz Encore stage for emerging musicians of all ages and backgrounds is back, and in total there are more [ ... ]
An introduction to music generally and the orchestra in particular by Expo City Dubai’s all-female Firdaus Orchestra via a concert of classically arranged music for children aged 0 to 6 years old and their parents. The programme includes a range [ ... ]
Join Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid (above right) and collaborator Magda Stawarska (left) as they talk about their rather good SAF exhibition Plaited Time / Deep Water with the exhibition's curator, Dr Omar Kholeif. They will delve into the role [ ... ]
ToDA transforms into a jazz venue for live performance accompanied by a 360° immersive show: this time it's Luisa Winck with keyboard and drums in a 90-minute set. Expect a range from soulful ballads to upbeat foot-tappers ... [ ... ]
This performance piece traces the 50-year journey of a marble sculpture depicting a bull’s head, using interviews as well as inventory lists, photographs, legal documents and other evidence presented to the New York Supreme Court from investigations that lasted for [ ... ]
The excellent Afrikaans funnyman is back in town – older and now married, but still keen to stay “hip with the youth”. But can he ‘keep up’? This is the second of his two shows in Dubai.
The reliably funny Northern Irish comic is currently touring his new standup show – from here he zips over to Australia and New Zealand, then to mainland Europe for a few more dates, all before the end of March ... [ ... ]
Two final performances for this spectacular dance/circus interpretation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s fable of an aviator who lands in the middle of the desert and meets the Little Prince, who’s travelling from one planet to another looking for his sheep. [ ... ]
A newly restored print of Disney's family-friendly animation: the beast (an enchanted prince, of course) tries to win the love of the young and beautiful Belle with the help of the caste's enchanted staff (who have been transformed into a [ ... ]
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