• Politically Incorrect Comedy

    The Clavichord Signature Hotel, Barsha Heights, Dubai

    MadCat Comedy’s regular night at the Clavichord in TECOM with "raw, unfiltered, hilarious” standup. The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.

    AED 80
  • Swan Lake

    Dubai Opera

    Two performances today – 2pm and 8pm – for the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, done in the classic style by the Hungarian National Ballet with the Hungarian National Opera Orchestra. There are final performances tomorrow (Sunday 28 September) at 1pm and 7pm.

    From AED 240
  • Talal Al Najjar: Mesh & Mayhem

    Tabari Artspace Gate Village Level 2, DIFC, Dubai

    Talal Al Najjar’s works feel very contemporary, not just in his use of materials and technologuy but also in his concerns and ambitions. He produces sculpture, video, sound, CGI animation, painting, and installation, in addition to writing and curation; his [ ... ]

  • FIELDWORK: Cultural Histories, Rural Futures

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    A two-day symposium reflecting on agrarian knowledge, cultural memory, and the role of rural communities in shaping their own futures. Through talks, lectures, screenings and site visits, the programme engages with urgent questions around how land is used, who works [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Dear Children, Sincerely…

    The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The second and final performance of this eclectic ensemble production, a collaboration between Stages Theatre Group, Sri Lanka and Mashirika, Rwanda. Dear Children, Sincerely (DCS) is an ongoing research project, initiated in Sri Lanka in 2015, which gathers stories from [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Agatha Christie: Black Coffee

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

    Second performance for Agatha Christie’s spy/theft/murder thriller. with legendary detective Hercule Poirot assessing the case. There are further performances at 2.30 and 7.30pm on 28 September.

    AED 100
  • Mid-Autumn Festival: A Moonment to Remember

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

    A spectacular celebration of Chinese acrobatics from the Dezhou Acrobatic Troupe from Shandong Province. This 90-minute show with 25 performers and 12 acts, blending traditional Chinese choreography with modern acrobatic techniques – like the dazzling Flying Fork (stunning aerial feats) [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Joke Hub

    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.

    AED 99
  • Swan Lake

    Dubai Opera

    The final performances today for the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, done in the classic style by the Hungarian National Ballet with the Hungarian National Opera Orchestra, are at 1pm and 7pm.

    From AED 240
  • Agatha Christie: Black Coffee

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

    The final two performances for this Agatha Christie spy/theft/murder thriller. with legendary detective Hercule Poirot assessing the case. There are performances at 2.30 and 7.30pm.

    AED 100
  • 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: dir Richard Fleischer (1954)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Another of Cinema Space’s free-to-view classics, this one a restored version of the Oscar-winning Jules Verne story: Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre are shipwrecked, taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo (James Mason) on his submarine Nautilus. Wavering [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sunday Night Comedy

    Social Distrikt The Pointe, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

    A standup night at Social Distrikt with Dubomedy, top dogs on the Dubai comedy scene. We’re promised "Big Laughs, a Killer Line-up and Great Holiday Vibes with your favourite Comedy Tribe ... You never know who will pop in". Recommended. [ ... ]

    Free, but minimum spend
  • Sorry We Missed You: dir Ken Loach (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Characteristically powerful social drama of the British working class from Ken Loach. This wrenching, intimate family drama exposes the dark side of the so-called 'gig economy; an unrelenting work schedule, a ruthless supervisor and the needs of their two teenage [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro & Ahmed

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

    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, in this case the Ahmeds taking to the stage for [ ... ]

    Free
  • Seaty: Crossing Horizons

    Alliance Française Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Known for a hybrid style blending realism and abstraction, Seaty is an artist with graffiti and pop art influences who characteristically creates portraits of people from different cultures and backgrounds, celebrating cultural diversity with a blend of monochrome tones and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sophie-Yen Bretez: The Unsaid Remains Remembered

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

    A solo exhibition by Paris-based artist Sophie-Yen Bretez for a new body of work that captures moments when one space becomes another, when times overlap, and when memory persists as life shifts forward. This “dramaturgy of passage” is expressed through [ ... ]

    Free
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    The Courtyard's most peopular 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 [ ... ]

    Free
  • Tom Segura: Come Together

    Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

    The American actor/comedian/writer is one of the biggest names in the comedy tour business – this gig for Dubai Comedy Festival reprises his worldwide 40-stop tour, so it ought to be pretty slick by now ... He’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, [ ... ]

    From AED 295
  • The Fridge Presents: Peppe Voltarelli & Luca Ciarla in Dubai

    The Fridge Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    It doesn’t get much more Italian than this: singer-songwriter Peppe Voltarelli – known for a unique musical style that blends various genres, primarily focusing on Italian folk, world music, and pop but still manages to reflect his Calabrian roots.– teams [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • LAST CHANCE Ana Escobar Saavedra: It Starts Where It Ends

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

    Ana Escobar Saavedra has a cross-disciplinary creative practice working on the frontiers of craft, art and design. Born and bred in Colombia, she is now established in the UAE; for the last few years, she has combined a personal studio [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Unstable Grounds: 2025 MFA Graduate Exhibition

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

    For the fourth time, this exhibition shows work by students completing the two-year Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media at NYUAD – Dima Abou Zannad, Bao, Adele Bea Cipste, Hala El Abora, Mowen Li (Amira), Jude Maharmeh, Safeya [ ... ]

    Free
  • Wassef Boutros-Ghali: A Retrospective (1965-2016)

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    In the canvases of Wassef Boutros-Ghali, colours informed by a knowledge of unrelenting Mediterranean sunlight flood the flat plane of the canvas; architectural forms emerge, collide and re-engineer themselves without a narrative. Boutros-Ghali’s art speaks to the pure and unrestricted [ ... ]

    Free
  • Morteza Khosravi: The Floating Table

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Influenced by the likes of Lucian Freud and Egon Schiele, Khosravi's drawings and paintings suggest that he's looking for artistic ideas – "for him, how to encounter pieces is important than pieces itself". But does have a characteristic style of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Katya Emelyanova: Elevated State

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The practice of Moscow-based Katya Emelyanova explores the phenomenology of aesthetic experience, aiming to evoke emotion, foster direct engagement, and maintain accessibility. Drawing from fauvism and abstraction, her vibrant forms begin as abstract concepts that gradually evolve into refined, expressive [ ... ]

    Free
  • Stuff!

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    "Melbourne’s goofiest duo", aka Jon & Jero, bring their epic adventure to the Dubai Comedy Festival for an hour-long show that invites kids and parents alike to be swept up in a hilarious tale of two bumbling brothers on a [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • Sam Wills: Tape Face

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Tape Face is a silent, eccentric character whose comedy transcends the boundaries of age, language, and culture; taking inspiration from silent film, mime, magic, and puppetry, Sam Wills' character makes shoes sing, empty dresses dance, and electrical tape blossom into [ ... ]

    From AED 100
  • Con Coutis

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    Fifty years after a meteor has wiped out every comedian but one, the Government revives the last-known comic, Con Coutis, from cryosleep in a final attempt to bring laughter back to the world. With cutting-edge surround sound and clever audio [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • MUSH

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A "weird but wonderful" ‘ids show for adults’ at the Dubai Comedy Festival – expect plenty of clown antics, character work, and audience interaction. There's a second show tomorrow (5 October).    

    From AED 150
  • Shawn Chidiac aka My Parents are Divorced

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    The Lebanese-Canadian comedian is a genuine rising star, known for his viral character "My Parents Are Divorced" (MPAD) and a very sharp wit blended with raw, relatable humour. This venue should suit him well. SOLD OUT but there may be [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • Stuff!

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second show for "Melbourne’s goofiest duo", aka Jon & Jero,  in a hilarious tale of two bumbling brothers on a mission to recover their stolen stuff. Venturing across strange and wonderful lands and encountering a whirlwind of silly antics, [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • Sam Wills: Tape Face

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second Dubai Comedy Festival, show for Tape Face, a silent, eccentric character whose comedy transcends the boundaries of age, language, and culture; taking inspiration from silent film, mime, magic, and puppetry, Sam Wills' character makes shoes sing, empty dresses [ ... ]

    From AED 100
  • Con Coutis

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second performance for this wildly original Dubai Comedy Festival show flips traditional comedy on its head, delivering a futuristic, sonically charged, hilariously unexpected experience: 50 years after a meteor has wiped out every comedian but one, the Government revives [ ... ]

    From AED 75
  • MUSH

    Playhouse Studio Theatre New Covent Garden, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second performance of this "weird but wonderful" ‘kids show for adults’ at the Dubai Comedy Festival – expect plenty of clown antics, character work, and audience interaction.    

    From AED 150
  • Omid Djalili: NAMASTE

    Dubai Opera

    An early-evening Dubai Comedy Festival gig for the British-Iranian funnyman – 30 years in comedy, and despite the Hollywood cameos and TV roles the live stage has always felt his true home. Acid wit and self-deprecating anecdotes plus belly laughs [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • DXB Theatre Awards

    The Bagot, McGettigans JLT Bonnington, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

    The first ever DXB Theatre Awards has 116 nominations spread over 22 productions – which surely demonstrates the vitality of Dubai’s theatre scene. Leading the nominations are two musicals, Guys and Dolls by Music Theatre DXB and Romeo+Juliet (featuring the [ ... ]

    Free
  • Shawn Chidiac aka My Parents are Divorced

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    A second Dubai Comedy Festival gig  for the Lebanese-Canadian comedian, a genuine rising star known for his sharp wit blended with raw, relatable humour. SOLD OUT but there may be returns

    From AED195
  • Akaash Singh

    Dubai Opera

    In addition to his podcast success – Flagrant, with fellow comedian Andrew Schulz – and a burgeoning acting career, Akaash Sing is proving to be a canny and funny stand-up: he self-produced and directed his first stand-up special, Bring Back [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • Sharjah International Film Festival for Children & Youth (SIFF)

    Vox Cinema, City Center Al Zahia University Road, Al Zahia, Sharjah

    The 12th Edition of SIFF takes place 6 to 11 October at VOX Cinemas in City Centre Al Zahia with what looks like a strong lineup – 76 films (chosen from 1,740 submissions!) representing 26 countries. South Korea is participating [ ... ]

    tbc
  • La Llorona: dir Jayro Bustamante (2019)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Guatemalan auteur Jayro Bustamante’s transfixing fusion of folklore, magical realism and searing political commentary was inspired by the real-life indictment of the authoritarian Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes against humanity. A notorious, indignant, ageing former military dictator, Enrique stands trial [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

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

    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 plus guests. Classic Courtyard improv. It's free, but you need to put your name on [ ... ]

    Free
  • Joanne McNally

    Dubai Opera

    Two Dubai Comedy Festival shows in one evening for the Irish funnywoman, at 6.30pm and 9.30pm; catch one of them if you can, because she is very good. She's a regular on TV in Britain and Ireland, and she co-hosts [ ... ]

    From AED195
  • Nat Bowen: Chromology

    Bassam Freiha Art Foundation Cultural District Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Known for works of glossy, abstract resin poured on to acrylic, Bowen creates luminous, aqueous fields that transform colour into a language of emotion and presence. With this show, says the gallery, "viewers are invited into an intimate space of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Golden Ink: A Journey through Arab and Islamic Manuscripts

    Qasr Al Watan Ras Al Akhdar, Abu Dhabi

    This flagship travelling exhibition, run in collaboration with McGill University, Canada, is a great chance to explore the richness, inherent beauty, and global impact of the heritage of Arabic and Islamic manuscripts. The exhibition promises an exploration of the intellectual [ ... ]

    General admission AED 65
  • Andrew Schulz: Flagrant Live

    Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

    Known for its high-energy banter and unpredictability,  US comic Andrew Schulz brings his hit Flagrant podcast to the Dubai Comedy Festival, Expect special guests and boundary-testing comedy in a live podcast taping.  

    From AED295
  • David Voinson

    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    David Voinson takes the stage with a sharp, hilarious look at the chaos of dating, friendship, and figuring life out in your twenties. Caught between staying single or searching for real love, he unpacks the confusion of his generation with [ ... ]

    From AED 175
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    The Courtyard's most peopular 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 [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mo Amer

    Dubai Opera

    First of two Dubai Comedy Festival nights with two shows per night (6.30 and 9.30m) for the Palestinian-American stand-up and writer. Expect reflections on family, fresh takes on fatherhood, and candid insights on today’s world.  

    From AED 295
  • Banafsheh Hemmati: Body Geometry

    Satellite Gallery DIFC, Dubai

    The first solo exhibition in the UAE for the Tehran-based artist-designer presents a collection of the artist’s jewellery and wearable sculptures. Body Geometry is a research-based project, where the design process is presented as well as the finished pieces. As [ ... ]

    Free
  • And After

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

    A major group exhibition that explores the element of air and its various states through the lens of Arabic terminology, specifically Sukoon, Hawaa, Naseem and Riyah. Sukoon symbolises stillness and the pause between movement; Hawaa refers to the gentle, everyday [ ... ]

    Free