1927 is an award winning theatre company known for their shows that mix live music, storytelling and performance with animation. They will be performing their critically acclaimed show The Animals and Children took to the Streetsat DUCTAC this week, from Thursday 23rd till Saturday 25th February.
The Animals and Children took to the Streets tells the story of Agnes Eaves and her daughter who live in Bayou Mansions, a decrepit tenement block with a sinister air. The imaginary setting emphasises the timeless nature of its themes, as the characters navigate government oppression and the paranoia of inner-city life. Visually inventive and filled with live music and song, this show doesn't rely on the English language and is suitable for a wide age range.
Looks like it will be a lot of fun to watch live. Here's the trailer:
Here's a short video featuring Suzanne Andrade from 1927 talking about the show.
The Animals and Children took to the Streets looks like it's a must see. If you are in Dubai, try not to miss it.
Event details Dates: Thursday, 23rd February at 7.30pm Friday, 24th Februay at 2.30pm and 7.30pm Saturday, 25th February at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Venue: Kilachand Studio, DUCTAC in Mall of the Emirates, Dubai (location map)
Drama Dubai's Desert Players is a not for profit group on a mission to raise the standard of local theatre and to nurture a growing theater scene in Dubai without having to outsource the talent from the UK which is what every other production in Dubai does.
For this Valentine's Day week, they present us with Almost, Maine - a play by John Cariani from 14th-18th February at DUCTAC in Mall of the Emirates.
On a cold, clear, moonless Friday night in the middle of the night, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, residents of Almost find themselves in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised, hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. But the bruises heal and the hearts mend - almost.
Event details Dates: 14th-18th February Tickets: Show only AED 100 per person Valentines Dinner and Show on 14th February, AED 415 Dinner and Show 16th-18th February 310 AED Venue: Play at DUCTAC in Mall of the Emirates (location map) Dinner at K-Grill, Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates
Tickets available online at TimeOut Tickets or at the DUCTAC box office.
Mine is curated by South African artist, photographer and curator Abrie Fourie, who explains the concept behind the exhibition:
The title refers not only to the idea of deep level mining, but to the concept of personal ownership. The works featured have been chosen for their diversity, with the common denominator that the artists make reference to themselves in their work, either in person, as actor, model, observer, interviewer or instigator. Mine seeks to explore the myriad ways in which we identify and position our ‘selves’.
DUCTAC is hosting a festival dedicated to Ang Lee from 3rd-5th December. Don't expect to watch Brokeback Mountain, but the festival will include Ang Lee's legendary New York University graduate school thesis work Fine Line. I hope this is a start of special mini festivals that deal with retrospectives of certain film directors and genres.
If you've not been to DUCTAC, I suggest you use this as an opportunity to go. I couldn't ask for a better venue to host this festival, the Centrepoint Theatre at DUCTAC is the only proper theatre in this town and it's quite charming.
Screening schedule:
3rd December at 7pm - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Li Mu Bai’s mission to recover a magical sword that has suddenly disappeared is made all the more difficult by his love for Yu Shu Lien. Set in the final glorious years of the Qing dynasty, the film features blistering martial arts scenes, remarkable acting and breathtaking visuals.
Winner of 80 awards, including the Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Director and the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Original Score. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.
December 4th December at 6pm - Sense and Sensibility (1995)
This wonderful adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel follows the Dashwood family, who are almost penniless after the death of their patriarch, and the romantic fortunes of sisters Elenor and Marianne as they support one another through death, hardship and heartbreak.
Winner of the BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress and Golden Globes for Best Film – Drama and Best Screenplay. Nominated for seven Academy awards, including Best Picture.
4th December at 8.30 pm - Fine Line (1984) Lee’s 1984 graduation thesis film draws on his Taiwanese Heritage in its portrayal of migrant Americans in New York’s Chinatown and Little Italy. This 43 minute film about a Chinese-American girl and an Italian-American boy won The New York Film Academy’s awards for Best Film and Best Director.
5th December - Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Mr. Chu, the greatest living chef in Taipei, has struggled with his three grown and rebellious daughters since his wife died years ago. When nagging widow Mrs Liang moves in next door, everyone wonders if she could be suitable for Mr. Chu; but then pregnancy, separation, death and true love all come along.
Nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and for Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.Winner of Best Film at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
Event details Date: 3rd-5th December 2011 Venue: Centrepoint Theatre at DUCTAC in Mall of the Emirates (location map) Phone: +971 4 341 4777 Free entry For Ages 16+ (except 5th December, 18+)
The 2nd edition of the MinD (Made in Dubai) exhibition opens today at DUCTAC (Dubai Community Theatre and Art Centre) and will run till Sunday, 20th March 2011. I took part in the first MinD exhibition last year and I'm honored and happy to be selected for this year's edition. It also includes my brother, Khalid Mezaina and artists that live, work and produce art in Dubai.
Curated by Ebtisam Abdulaziz, the theme for this year's exhibition is City's Dialogue and includes work exploring themes of city life, environmental degradation and the impersonality of modern lifestyles.
List of artists: Alia Lootah | Amna Al Madani | Barbara McGivern | Basem Alsayer | Carolin Kropff | Hind Mezaina | Huda Saeed Saif | Julia Townsend | Khalid Al Banna | Khalid Mezaina | Maisoon Al Saleh | Majida Nasreddin | Maryam Al Qassimi | Muna Abdul Qader Al Ali | Nasir Nasrallah | Paolomaria | Raymond Prucher | Salem Al Mansoori | Sarah Lahti | Zeinab Al Hashemi
The exhibition will feature artworks in a range of media including video, installation, painting, graphic art, sculpture, photography and performance art. The works will explore contemporary reality through site-specific installation.
Visitors will receive a map of the centre, which they will use to explore and find the artworks in unconventional locations throughout both the buildings in the DUCTAC complex (on level 2 of Mall of the Emirates).
International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women over the years and the British Council in the UAE will join organisations globally, and in the United Arab Emirates, to promote and create awareness of women’s issues.
“The British Council is passionately dedicated to raising awareness of social issues and how those could impact society at large. The film screenings of Pink Saris aim to do just that, by recognising the need to share experiences and approaches in order to tackle the continuing inequalities and discrimination faced by marginalised groups in societies worldwide.” Michel Bechara, Director of Projects, British Council UAE
Event details:
Abu Dhabi Cinestar in Marina Mall at 9pm (contact rsvp@adff.ae for seat reservation)
Dubai Centrepoint Theatre, DUCTAC in Mall of the Emirates at 8pm (contact info@thesceneclub.com for seat reservation)
Sharjah Shelter, Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba at 8pm (contact marayaartcentre@gmail.com for seat reservation)
All three screenings are complimentary, but seats are limited, so make sure you make a reservation.
Internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto's Pink Saris is an unflinching and often amusing look at the all-woman vigilante Gulabi Gang in Northern India and their charismatic leader, Sampat Pal, who acts as judge and jury for girls and women who are being abused by outlawed patriarchal traditions and the caste system.
"A girl's life is cruel...A woman's life is very cruel," notes Sampat Pal, the complex protagonist at the center of Pink Saris, internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto's latest foray into the lives of extraordinary women (Sisters In Law, Divorce Iranian Style, Rough Aunties). Sampat should know -- like many others she was married as a young girl into a family which made her work hard and beat her often. But unusually, she fought back, leaving her in-laws and eventually becoming famous as a champion for beleaguered women throughout Uttar Pradesh, many of whom find their way to her doorstep.
Kathakbox is the latest production from Sonia Sabri Company, one of the UK’s most dynamic dance companies making it's way to Abu Dhabi and Dubai next week on 26th and 28th February. The show celebrates the unique, diverse energy of modern urban spaces through a brand new dance style: Urban Kathak.
Kathakbox brings together Indian Kathak dance’s grace, vigour and the rhythms and rhymes of Hip Hop culture. Complex percussive patterns converse with beatbox and the verbal dexterity of Kathak rap (Kavitt) layers with urban poetry.
Kathakbox does not ‘box in’ these genres to a particular time or place, but discovers the raw spirit and heartbeat of each art form which reverberate between cultures. Reflecting the diverse, intersecting rhythms of the human experience, Kathakbox encourages us to ‘think outside the box’.
The production coming to the UAE will feature artistic director Sonia Sabri performing with four highly talented artists: tabla maestro Sarvar Sabri; acclaimed spoken word artist Zena Edwards; dynamic B-Boy Nathan Geering; and beatboxer Shan Bansil.
I'm so glad to see contemporary dance shows in our theatres, I went to Akram Khan's Vertical Road in Abu Dhabi last week and loved it (except for fact that I was surrounded by a few idiots with loud clicking cameras and loud phone rings). I looking forward to Kathakbox and I just hope the audience will be better behaved.
Supershock vs Nosferatu is a mesmerising movie-concert which will see the critically-acclaimed Italian rock band Supershock play their brand new score live during a rare screening of director Friedrich Wilhelm Muranau’s 1922 vampire masterpiece Nosferatu (ranked 21 in Empire magazine's 'The 100 Best Films of World Cinema'. This show is coming to Dubai and is happening on 26th November in one of my favourite theatres in Dubai, DUCTAC's Centrepoint Theatre.
It's must for fans of classic cinema and contemporary rock music alike and recalls the enchantment of the beginning of the 20th century, when film projection was accompanied by an orchestra playing live in the cinema hall.
On Saturday, 5th June DUCTAC will screen The Age of Stupid.
The Age of Stupid is a 2008 film by directed by Franny Armstrong (McLibel, Drowned Out) and stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
The production was notable for its innovative way crowd-funding financing model, as well as the Indie Screenings distribution system which allows anyone anywhere to screen the film. The film was released in 2009 and became one of the most talked-about films of the year. It also spawned the hugely-successful 10:10 campaign.
Event details: Date: Saturday, 5th June at 6pm (doors open at 5.30pm) Location: DUCTAC, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Phone: +9714 3414777 Admission is free and seats are offered on first come first seated basis.
PRIVATE(ly) is a photography exhibition showcasing work by 18 young Emirati women from Dubai Women’s College and exploring the private world of the girls of Dubai. From photographs exploring private fantasies for power to others expressing the intense fear of violence, each photo lets us into a private and personal truth for these young women.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 9:12PM 
