• Laughter Factory: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Filthy’ Tour

    Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

    The final gig for the November standups – Kate Barron from Canada ("after a lifetime of being told she is too big, too loud and too vulgar, by everyone from strangers to teachers, she decided to step on stage and [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Boeing-Boeing

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

    A final pair of performances for Marc Camoletti's swinging 60s farce, adapted into English by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans) and now it's getting the Dubai treatment with a H72 production at The Junction. Swinging bachelor Bernard is simultaneously engaged [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Pablo Reinoso: Lines in Motion

    Waddington Custot Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The first solo exhibition in the region for the French-Argentinian artist features a selection of existing and brand-new works first shown at Abu Dhabi Art that provides a comprehensive survey of Reinoso’s sculptural practice. The show highlights the whimsical world [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rima Chahine: Euphoria

    The Warehouse Goshi Warehouse 57, Al Quoz 3, Dubai

    The Dubai-based Canadian artist's third solo show is a series of her signature abstracts, featuring striking use of colour and aiming to leave the viewer with "feelings of exaltation, elation and joyousness". Says the artist: "the remedy for self-fixation – [ ... ]

    Free
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Hekayah | The Story

    NYUAD East Plaza Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    What does 'home' mean to you? Your country, your city, your family? Abu Dhabi is conventionally but accurately described as melting pot of people from all over the world, and if anything NYU Abu Dhabi represents even more of a [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

    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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Small Island Big Song: Our Island

    NYUAD East Plaza Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Musicians from islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans sing of their concerns for the changing seas. The concert brings together artists from Taiwan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tokelau/Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), performing songs they have co-written; the [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    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 [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Jade Kim & Kai: SOMEDAY | Love and Labyrinths

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

    A dual exhibition for two interesting Asian artists – Jade Kim from South Korea and Kai from Japan. Jade Kim's practice is based around the animated character MIN, an embodiment of his wife, whose personality and characteristics inspire his paintings [ ... ]

    Free
  • Julian Charrière: Melting Point

    For COP28, the noted climate-engaged Swiss-French artist is presenting an important show in collaboration with Art of Change 21, a non-profit organisation on art and environment which has curated exhibitions and events at each COP since 2015; and Alserkal Initiatives, [ ... ]

  • Snarky Puppy

    Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Genre-blurring musical collective Snarky Puppy is in town for one night only. Playing together since 2004 and led by bassist Michael League, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk that has won it five [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • La Scala Theatre Orchestra: A Concert for Tomorrow

    Dubai Opera

    Extravagantly priced Dubai debut for the orchestra of Milan's Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The gala concert apparently "aims to unite audiences in a powerful display of solidarity and hope in support of the global effort to protect the planet and [ ... ]

    From AED 440
  • Dubai Motorcycle Film Festival 2023

    Warehouse Four Al Quoz, Dubai

    The third DMFF is an evening at Warehouse Four, with more than 20 short films from ten countries (including a couple from the UAE) at 7.30pm. Courtesy of Café Rider, there's a BBQ before that, from 5.30 on; it's included [ ... ]

    AED 65
  • Global Notes: Anna Fedorova & Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz

    Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    The Global Notes series of concerts presented by Dubai Opera and Encore Performing Arts continues with another excellent pick, a recital by the brilliant young Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova and her partner Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz (cello, double bass).  The programme [ ... ]

    AED 265
  • Gypsy Kings

    Dubai Opera

    The Gipsy Kings have been around since the 1970s, bringing the sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco music to a worldwide audience selling more than 14 million of their 'new flamenco' albums around the globe (their ninth studio album, Savor Flamenco [ ... ]

    From AED 295
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

    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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Arts Chat: Building a Life as an Artist

    NYUAD Art Gallery Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    A continuing series on building a life as an artist, presented by The NYUAD Art Gallery in partnership with The NYUAD Arts Center and NYUAD Career Development Centre. This conversation delves into opportunities and challenges that artists are facing in [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rushdi’s Comedy Souk

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

    A regular monthly evening of improv and stand-up hosted by Rushdi.

    Free, but pre-register
  • Resonance Climate Concert with Ricky Kej and Stewart Copeland

    Dubai Opera

    A Climate Concert hosted by UNCCD and the San Francisco-based nonprofit BayEcotarium for Cop28, featuring THE POLICE’s biggest hits (among them Roxanne, Don’t Stand So Close to Me, and Message in a Bottle) led by Stewart Copeland with four singers [ ... ]

    From AED 160
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    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 [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Paul Oakenfold Live in Dubai

    Zero Gravity Skydive Dubai Drop Zone, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud St, Dubai

    A rare chance to hear one of the genuine legends of the mixing deck, the British DJ, producer, remixer, and label head is one of the most important figures in the history of dance music – in terms both of [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Sustainability in Museums

    Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    A day of talks and tours that promises to “delve into the pivotal roles museums, professionals, and artists play in confronting environmental challenges and advancing toward a more sustainable future”. 11am – 12pm The Sustainability Challenge: ‘Make the Intangible Tangible [ ... ]

  • Yoshihiko Tsutsumi: Intersections of Cosmos

    XVA Gallery Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Yoshihiko Tsutsumi is an accomplished graphic designer and artist (and a professional antiques dealer, gallerist and art director too, as it happens). Influenced by the immersive environment of his uncle's cinema billboard painting atelier in Kumamoto, Japan, he draws inspiration [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bookish Winter Shopping Festival

    Bookends Dubai Digital Park A3 Building, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai

    A three-day fair/sale of pre-owned books all related to "the hobbies and passions of reading and books" and book-themed merchandise by local artisans, authors, and crafters . Bookends is open 10am to 10pm.

    Free (unless you buy a book)
  • Sharjah Film Platform 6

    [various Sharjah locations]

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Arts Foundation’s annual indie/experimental film festival, which runs from 8 to 17 December, features more than 50 films from around the world – a range of independent cinema and experimental filmmaking that “foregrounds the transformative [ ... ]

    AED 15
  • From Ink to Action

    Warehouse 58 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    This pop-up touring exhibition, part of the British Council’s creative commissions under its Culture Responds Global Programme, showcases 12 comic artists from the Arab region. Their work highlight ecological challenges and offers a unique artistic perspective on how we can [ ... ]

  • Rusted Stars

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

    A science fiction musical: long ago people left an uninhabitable earth to make a life in the stars. That sort of worked, but after centuries the infrastructure of their colonies is in disrepair and standards of living are crumbling. Then [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Slava’s Snowshow

    Dubai Opera

    One of the best seasonal shows around – a whimsical blur of laughter, awe, and magic that has already been seen by more than 12 million theatre-goers around the world, reportedly receives a standing ovation following every single performance, and [ ... ]

    From AED 225
  • Laughter Factory: ‘Endless Fun, End of Season, Parties’

    Mövenpick Hotel JBR Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Pre-Christmas standup jollity with Maher Barwany, Imah, Elsey de Almeida and Mark Maier. The tour schedule: 8 December Movenpick JBR Dubai 9 December Movenpick JBR Dubai 14 December Park Rotana Abu Dhabi 15 December Radisson Hotel DAMAC Hills Dubai 16 [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Candlelight: Mozart’s Masterpieces

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

    Aldo Dotto plays a recital of what does indeed look like a top selection of the composer's works, all lit by candlelight. The programme: ♦ Symphony 40, 1st movement (arranged for piano) ♦ Sonata no.5 KV 283 in G Major: [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Slava’s Snowshow

    Dubai Opera

    Two more performances for one of the best seasonal shows around – a whimsical blur of laughter, awe, and magic that has already been seen by more than 12 million theatre-goers around the world, reportedly receives a standing ovation following [ ... ]

    From AED 225
  • Rusted Stars

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

    Second performance for this science fiction musical, said to be the first original musical play to be produced in the UAE: long ago people left an uninhabitable earth to make a life in the stars. That sort of worked, but [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Laughter Factory: ‘Endless Fun, End of Season, Parties’

    Mövenpick Hotel JBR Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Second night of pre-Christmas standup jollity with Maher Barwany, Imah, Elsey de Almeida and Mark Maier. The remaining tour schedule: 14 December Park Rotana Abu Dhabi 15 December Radisson Hotel DAMAC Hills Dubai 16 December Dukes The Palm Dubai  

    AED 160
  • Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Forum

    Warehouse 1 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The second edition of the Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Forum, organised by Dubai Culture and Al Quoz Creative Zone as the region’s only conference dedicated to creative entrepreneurship, is again a free two-day event. While we don’t yet have the [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • A Century of Iconic Arab Music

    Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

    The Candlelight concerts experience – music with illumination provided by thousands of candles – is applied to a programme of classic Arabic music perfromed by the Fusion Al Arab Group, presenting works such as Tehaddoh El bashar by Rashed Al-Majed, [ ... ]

    From AED 200
  • Slava’s Snowshow

    Dubai Opera

    Two final performances for one of the best seasonal shows around – a whimsical blur of laughter, awe, and magic that has already been seen by more than 12 million theatre-goers around the world, reportedly receives a standing ovation following [ ... ]

    From AED 225
  • Rusted Stars

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

    The final performances for this science fiction musical, said to be the first original musical play to be produced in the UAE: long ago people left an uninhabitable earth to make a life in the stars. That sort of worked, [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • 1 MINUTE TO KRUSHIT

    Melrose Paramount Midtown, Al Mustaqbal Street, Dubai

    Another Dubomedy comedy night with alumni of its stand-up courses, last of the year – they each get just one minute to make you laugh, there will be prizes, and it's free with no minimum spend (you need to pre-register, [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Winter Special – Theatresports: Santas vs Elves

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

    A newish Courtyard tradition: competitive improv. In Theatresports, teams of improvisors compete against each other for points awarded by a panel of judges. The teams issue challenges to each other on the seasonal theme, and the judges are looking for [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Tinariwen

    Dubai Opera

    The exciting Tuareg band (the name Tinariwen translates to ‘People of the Deserts’ or ‘The Desert Boys’) merge traditional Tuareg melodies and rhythms with guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll in a style known as assouf among the Tuareg people and dubbed [ ... ]

    From AED 225
  • Winter Special – Theatresports: Santas vs Elves

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

    A newish Courtyard tradition: competitive improv. In Theatresports, teams of improvisors compete against each other for points awarded by a panel of judges. The teams issue challenges to each other on the seasonal theme, and the judges are looking for [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Handel’s Messiah

    Dubai Opera

    The Astana Opera Orchestra, the Dubai Festival Chorus, and conductor Rob Johnston perform the classic mainstay of the festive season – one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral pieces in Western music. Famously Handel composed Messiah in just [ ... ]

    From AED 225
  • Alfiz Sabirov: Ayu Bala

    Andakulova Gallery Unit 18, P4 Level Damac Park Towers, DIFC , Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A solo exhibition of 3D work by the Turkic artist, sculptures distinguished by a variety of shapes and volumes, unexpected combinations of materials and textures. Says the gallery: “Sabirov has created his own mythology, elaborated in detail and embodied in [ ... ]

    Free
  • Keigo Nakamura: Confronted with Light, Baroque in Shadow is Revealed

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

    Nakamura's first exhibition in the Middle East offers a chance to experience his exploration of light and life – presented as a dialogue with the inner self, guiding the viewer to their own 'light of life.' Mirrors in his art [ ... ]

  • Laughter Factory: ‘Endless Fun, End of Season, Parties’

    Park Rotana Khalifa Park, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The second weekend of pre-Christmas standup jollity with Maher Barwany, Imah, Elsey de Almeida and Mark Maier. The remaining tour schedule: 15 December Radisson Hotel DAMAC Hills Dubai 16 December Dukes The Palm Dubai      

    AED 160
  • The Nutcracker

    Dubai Opera

    Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite is delivered by the Astana Opera Ballet with the State Opera Orchestra of Astana. Choreography is by Yuri Grigorovich, the set designs by Simon Virsaladze are described as "stunning", and the blurb promises that audiences will [ ... ]

    From AED 300