The Laughter Factory
The final stop for this month's rather good Laughter Factory tour, with a headliner who deserves to be massive on the comedy circuit (he's pretty big now, but catch him while you can still get a ticket at a reasonable [ ... ]
The final stop for this month's rather good Laughter Factory tour, with a headliner who deserves to be massive on the comedy circuit (he's pretty big now, but catch him while you can still get a ticket at a reasonable [ ... ]
Nadine Ghandour’s first solo exhibition in the UAE, curated by Dawn Ross, features recent works informed by her experiences in various cities, including Dubai, Sharjah, Cairo and Rotterdam. Working with drawing, writing, performance and sculpture, Ghandour creates works that depict imagined [ ... ]
The final performance for this play about a close-knit family whose dynamic is altered when the daughter introduces her boyfriend into their world: it's about relationships, value systems, and prejudices – how we are unable to express ourselves and how [ ... ]
Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]

Bo-ri, an 11-year-old girl in a seaside village, is the only family member who can hear; she becomes more and more accustomed to talking with her school friends while finding it hard to communicate with her family in sign language. [ ... ]

The Baldaquin Ensemble – featuring cellist Petr Gladysh and violists Anna Larionova-Gladysh, Sergei Belozertsev, and Daria Kuchenova – presents a concert of French romantic crowd-pleasers: Debussy Clair de Lune arr for string quartet Debussy String Quartet in G mino Fauré [ ... ]
Rimini Protokoll pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. During this performance walk within the collective’s ‘Remote X’ series (2013–ongoing), you are invited to explore the growing presence of artificial intelligence in future cities; for this tour, designed specifically for Al [ ... ]
Performance Co//ective’s first showcase, featuring performances by the programme’s first cohort. These works, co-facilitated by Mary Chase and Carlos Paez Gonzalez, are the culmination of months of exploration in movement, writing, vocal expression, and more. Afterwards there's an opportunity to [ ... ]
One of the Coutryard's two-act evenings of spontaneous scenes and stories based on audience suggestions. First up is the regular Monday evening mix of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation from some of the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus [ ... ]

The uber-cool Pakistani-American singer (and songwriter, and producer) brings her latest – and very good – album Night Reign to Dubai. It's elegantly jazzy, earning a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album (she didn't win: it was a [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]

Max Richter, a leading figure in contemporary classical music and top film scores (and something of a favourite with Dubai audiences), is touring his latest studio album In a Landscape – field recordings from his travels and from around the [ ... ]
The Benininese artist, often associated with afrofuturism, considers how the AI revolution is opening up a new area of uncertainty in contemporary art: that of the complex triangulation between artist, machine and mind. Is this a redefinition of the contours [ ... ]

Writer-director Wim Wenders tells a Tokyo-set story that celebrates the hidden joys and minutiae of Japanese culture . Winner of Best Actor at Cannes 2023, Koji Yakusho stars as Hirayama, a contemplative middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty [ ... ]
One of the most consistently funny of the Courtyard's classic improv gigs is back after a couple of months' hiatus: the speakers have to give a presentation on a slide deck they’ve never seen before, with the topic determined at [ ... ]
This exhibition, curated by researcher and architect Rashed Al Mulla, revisits key moments in the UAE's history through examples of the country's postage stamps that highlight achievements in education, science, environmental Awareness, and international collaboration.
A sadly short show of new works from the Danish painter of vivid, hyperrealistic works (mainly portraits) in oil.
Maity’s first solo exhibition in Dubai celebrates the intersection of art and sport via a dozen works inspired by the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup; the large-scale acrylics are signed by winning captains, too.
FLEX* is a talking and listening game created by Manila-based curatorial and research initiative Load na Dito; participants explore the meaning of words based on personal experiences while moulding clay. Inspired by the city’s ubiquitous gift shops, the accompanying installation will [ ... ]
Carl Orff's choral crowdpleaser gets the full production from Dubai Singers & Orchestra – some 120 singers accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra. It will be conducted by Dubai Singers' Music Director Jennie Lee-Foster, The performance will feature a trio of [ ... ]
Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]
One of the Coutryard's two-act evenings of spontaneous scenes and stories based on audience suggestions. First up is the regular Monday evening mix of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation from some of the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus [ ... ]

This solo exhibition by the Japanese-Brazilian artist marks the culmination of her V-Residency programme at Volery, during which Oushiro has developed a new body of work that (according the gallery) "pushes the boundaries of abstraction, inviting the viewer into a [ ... ]
The Abu Dhabi launch of Vikram Divecha's book has Divecha in conversation with his co-editors, Lucas Morin and Dawn Ross, alongside contributors Sabih Ahmed and Gayatri Gopinath. It's moderated by Duygu Demir, NYUAD Art Gallery Curator. Short Circuits features essays, interviews, [ ... ]
The Courtyard's most peopular evening of elimination improv in an all-female version for one night only, in celebration of International Women’s Day, Ten of Dubai’s virtuoso female actors converge for a night of scenes, songs and games based on audience [ ... ]

Sedira's films represent a profound archival exploration of identity, and cultural activism. Born in 1963 to Algerian parents, her work is deeply rooted in her self-narration but also sheds light on broader, interconnected global anxieties surrounding cultural emancipation and diaspora. [ ... ]
FLEX* is a talking and listening game created by Manila-based curatorial and research initiative Load na Dito; participants explore the meaning of words based on personal experiences while moulding clay. Inspired by the city’s ubiquitous gift shops, the accompanying installation will [ ... ]
"A mesmerising tapestry of tales" promises the blurb. Written and directed by Rasika Agashe, it's a magical look at the fate of Scheherazade, the narrator of the original ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. Rasika Agashe says she has long been [ ... ]
An event in celebration of International Women's Day that features a panel discussion with Emirati writer Salha Obaid, a bookmark-making workshop, and a live calligraphy performance.
Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]
The second performance of this retelling of One Thousand and One Nights, written and directed by Rasika Agashe who has approached the Arabian Nights stories as the account of strong women navigating their survival through storytelling.
The second in The Gallery Collective, a series of sort-of gallery takeovers whereby Sotheby's Dubai is giving its DIFC exhibition space over to a series of local galleries in a two-year run starting in November. Every six to eight weeks, [ ... ]
A panel discussion in celebration of International Women’s Day, featuring a group of top female curators with local connections. Speakers: Suheyla Takesh Director, Barjeel Art Foundation Paz Monge Museum Curator, Guggenheim Chimere Cissé Founder, Art|Kōrero and STELLA Alliance Moderated by [ ... ]
One of the Coutryard's two-act evenings of spontaneous scenes and stories based on audience suggestions. First up is the regular Monday evening mix of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation from some of the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus [ ... ]
This exhibition celebrates the historic Dubai neighbourhood of Freej Al MurarFreej Al Murar as a living archive of artistry, community, and resilience. In this research project, Sharjah-based Mobius Design Studio – led by Hadeyeh Badri, Hala Al-Ani, and Riem Ibrahim [ ... ]
A solo exhibition for the Russian artist and sculptor, showcasing large-scale abstract paintings and double-sided sculptural steles. Curated by Oblong Contemporary's owner Paola Marucci, art historian Elena Zaytseva, and Lena Lenskaya from Lenskaya Design Bureau, the exhibition promises "a unique [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]

Benjamin Malick, who recently established a studio at Hatta, has been working on a major body of work titled Tales of Sarab which documents his experiences since arriving in the UAE in 2020 – a project that has given him [ ... ]
"An immersive exploration of The Prism’s distinctive artistic vision ... Going beyond aesthetics, these exhibitions create emotionally and spiritually resonant experiences, transforming light and space to challenge perceptions and inspire deep reflection ... Through dynamic interplays of form, colour, and [ ... ]

Stanley Donen’s Paris-set romantic screwball / comedy / mystery film has been described as "the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made" – it has a genius plot, an elegant (or kitschy, depending on your tastes) vibe, and real chemistry between [ ... ]
La Troupe de Culture Emulsion (Dubai's only Francophone theatre group?) presents Alexis Michalik's massively popular theatrical tour de force – a literary treasure hunt that takes its audience through several eras and several lands in the company of a multitude [ ... ]
FLEX* is a talking and listening game created by Manila-based curatorial and research initiative Load na Dito; participants explore the meaning of words based on personal experiences while moulding clay. Inspired by the city’s ubiquitous gift shops, the accompanying installation will [ ... ]
Second performance (of three) for Culture Emulsion's production of Alexis Michalik's massively popular theatrical tour de force – a literary treasure hunt that takes its audience through several eras and several lands in the company of a multitude of colourful [ ... ]
Barjeel Art Foundation founder and noted cultural commentator Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi talks with Athar Jaber about the artist's practice, life, and thoughts. Athar Jaber’s first solo show at Ayyam Gallery, titled Vestiges, is midway through its run (to 1 [ ... ]
Bringing together more than 40 artists and collectives, drawing from politics, history, economics and urbanism, this exhibition takes a playful yet serious approach to how animals navigate and thrive within the gaps of urban environments. What happens when animals escape [ ... ]
Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]
Third and final performance for Culture Emulsion's production of Alexis Michalik's massively popular theatrical tour de force – a literary treasure hunt that takes its audience through several eras and several lands in the company of a multitude of colourful [ ... ]
This comedykix gig at the Courtyard by Marriott's Oak Live Bar promises exactly what it says ion the tin – "new and seasoned comedians" plus drinks (there's free entry but with a minimum AED 50 spend).

A solo exhibition of paintings by the noted Iranian-American artist. Derakshani has a body of work that spans decades, with examples in major institutional and private collections worldwide; this exhibition presents a selection of never-before-exhibited works from three of his [ ... ]
One of the Coutryard's two-act evenings of spontaneous scenes and stories based on audience suggestions. First up is the regular Monday evening mix of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation from some of the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus [ ... ]
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