The Empire of Miss Understanding

Clockwise from top left: Soans and Isis; Fernandez and Isis; Isis; Weber and Soans

An ensemble of local musical/lyrical talent, collaborating as "The Royal Court", joined cellist Isis M on her return to the Courtyard Playhouse today (and yesterday) for a unique performance entitled The Empire of Miss Understanding.

The show's pop-surreal theme graphic art -- also printed on the performers' clothes -- matched the abstract and metaphorical leanings of the lyrics and Maria Papadaki's video backdrop, in a setting that was subtly scenographed by Filipa Santos. After a couple of her solos, Isis was accompanied by Keigan Soans, Adam Weber, and Caroline Fernandez in several permutations, the latter adding vintage vocals and contemporary spoken word to her cello instrumental background, sometimes with a guitar layer.

The result was an intriguing spectacle of alt music and video art, unpretentious and often captivating. Vocals were good throughout, but in terms of lyrics, I especially liked the second half. The arrangement made excellent use of the range of the cello and the loop pedal, both as a solo instrument, and in combination with the other instruments and vocals.

Grassroots Revue Dubai

Dubai community theater The Courtyard Playhouse held another Grassroots Revue event this season to showcase local talent -- a mixed-form potpourri of performances, introducing audiences to arts and artists to which they might not otherwise have been exposed.

A double feature of poetry was on the bill, with Zeina Hashem Beck (left) reading from her new book, To Live in Autumn, and Frank Dullaghan reading his series of poignant poems about a missing child incident.

Comedy also took center-stage, with well-received performances from the likes of Luke Haecker (top left) and Sameer Abdul Rehman (top right), and local improv troupe Improv Anonymous (bottom) playing short-form scenes and games (including attempts at musical improv) across two slots.

Musicians galore too, as the programme was peppered with four acoustic guitar instrumental or singing performances -- including classical guitarist Valentin Spasov and David Beats Goliath frontman George Driscoll -- and closed on a violin note.

Draupadi: A fiery woman in a crowded theater

Being offered a part in this project came as a bit of a surprise. But knowing that Draupadi - The Voice of Dignity involved the Malhaar Choir, Loom Ensemble, and Third Half Theatre, it was not hard to say "yes". It also helped that I was several weeks into a Mahabharata mythos geek trip.

Although I, as a cast member, repeatedly witness their performances, the choir has me rapt each time we do a run-through. The instrumental array features Indian classical music instruments together with electric guitar, synth keyboard and cajon, producing hypnotic music that straddles West and East. The singing is rousing and spellbinding (a couple have become the earworms of the month), and the dancers make their well-practiced skill seem almost effortless in mesmerizing choreography; listening to the choir and watching the dance makes the countless hours of rehearsal feel not as long.

Thanks to Third Half Theatre and Loom Ensemble, these song, music and dance segments are interspersed and framed with an English-scripted philosophical/magical story that references the epic, along with contemporary dance and physical theatre.

As for my role, I don't want to give away details, except that watching fidgety me hold still for minutes at a time is in itself a spectacle. I have never done anything in this particular style of theatre, but we have a supportive and enthusiastic team. Therefore, I have high expectations of a grand performance, especially extrapolating what I have glimpsed of the production aspects.

The play stages on May 23rd/Fri and 24th/Sat, 7:30pm, at Madinat Theatre. There are a few tickets still on sale, and they can be purchased at timeouttickets.com or at the Madinat Theatre's offline box office.

BreakTHrough #2 a performance art smorgasbord

I went to The Courtyard Playhouse this weekend to check out the second BreakTHrough grassroots mixed arts showcase. The event not only had performers from across diverse arts onstage, it also included audience Q&A after each performance.

(L-R) Sheika Ritualo; Alwyn Fernandes; Nikhil Uzgare

Opening the first half, teenage pianist and singer Sheika Ritualo wowed us with a powerful performance of a locally-composed piano ballad. Rock band Point of View's lead vocalist Nikhil Uzgare collaborated with prolific guitarist Alwyn Fernandes to open the second half with an acoustic performance of three songs, including one in Hindi.

Other acts that evening included the poetry of Frank Dullaghan, and a synced dance by Anaz Abdul Azeez and Siva Yogan. Another great musical act closed the event: classically-trained Marimba player/promoter Mishel Tawfik's passionate and animated performance on the instrument.

Courtyard Playhouse and First Long Form Night

The combined improv acting batches of Drama Dubai gathered this day for our first long form evening. We all had a blast, especially with one of my favorites: towns and chairs. It was great to have a casual long form session in the almost 100% finished Courtyard Playhouse, Dubai's newest community arts space. The carpets are lain, and the paint smell is gone, so we were kind of inaugurating it as a usable space.

Apart from drama, there are going to be a lot of other interesting activities going on there, from stand-up to photography. The bleacher seating arrangements, which can be extended in the floor space as necessary, and the substantial stage space will together also make it an attractive venue for performances. Yes, I think we in the arts community here can look forward to seeing a lot of it henceforth.