Loom Ensemble brings Art Monastery performance to Dubai

Loom Ensemble's Dubai-based cohort returned to the city this month after half a year away, to begin a residency of performance and workshops at thejamjar. The fruits of their Art Monastery residency in Italy during their time away, which they refined over an international tour, premiered at thejamjar this weekend as a contemporary theatre performance they call "Prime".

The central theme of the performance is a relationship that becomes increasingly tempestuous as one of the two characters, played by Neva Cockrell, finds herself unable to relate to her partner, played by Raphael Sacks. The tension and lack of meaningful communication in their relationship is portrayed using an array of visual, verbal, physical and vocal metaphors -- some with more than one dimension of allusion.

The play features beautiful choreography and appropriate pacing, with some particularly interesting motifs expressed through color and clothing. A keen observer will notice a few internal cross-references in the narrative, and see aspects of the broader themes in seemingly mundane actions or words. Much is also added by the tactical lighting and playback sound, which were technically executed very well.

The many questions and interpretations from audience members were addressed during the short discussion session that followed, in which the inspirations and process behind the project were also described.

The Object as Mediator

Flemish artist duo Robbert&Frank/Frank&Robbert brought their performance art piece, The Object as Mediator, to the city this week. It's rare to see something of this abstract level here, even deep under the dermis of Dubai's art world. I had to miss their show at the Mahani event on Dec 10th, but there was, fortunately, another opportunity to see them perform today at The Mine, along with an unexpectedly strong turnout.

One especially interesting dimensions to their 45-minute performance was the lighting. The performance began with the gallery lights shut off, and all the lighting from then on came from performance props, including a film projector and the headlamps of a MINI they drove through the gallery. Featuring no dialogue, their performance, as well as the occasional audience members' participation, took place silently, with an oddball music track mix playing in the background.

Employing such props as wooden blood pools, forensic brushes, and miniature pine tree cutouts, the artists' actions during the performance seemed to be portraying the construction of violence, and depicting as farce the process of investigating, analyzing, and assigning responsibility for it. Such themes could be particularly relevant now, given recent events in the US and in the Middle East.

Quoz Art Festival and a spot of ISEA

The Quoz Arts Festival returned to the neighborhood this year, with a new branding, a wider audience, and a lot of food. Literally, one lane of Al Serkal Avenue, turned into a food street. A satellite attraction was the upcoming expansion of the Avenue, the construction for which was now looking much closer to completion in the plot next door.

Before taking a look around the galleries, though, I dropped in at the Fridge for the final performance of ISEA 2014: Maziar Ghaderi's Dissolving Self, featuring Vrinda Bhandula's dance performance visually augmented with a live projection behind her, controlled by her movements. It's not the first motion-controlled rendering in the world, but the simple bi-chromatic star field, coalescing, expanding and spining with her was beautiful in execution.

I only had the time to look at a few galleries. One I liked a lot was FN Designs and its exhibition of pop art, especially the long panorama of iconic aspects of Dubai life, pixelated and colored in a style reminiscent of retro computer games.

At Grey Noise, Michael John Welan's Lupus consisted of works in the metaphorical vein typical of the gallery, using different media and/or cultural symbols to wistfully allude to the demise of the Irish wild wolf.

Further afield, Mottahedan Projects' multi-artists exhibition, The Other Side of Visibility, featured a diverse and mostly interesting array of art, with my favorites including the works of Tala Madani (right), Maryam Hoseini (top left) and Habib Farajabadi (bottom left).

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.

From Page to Stage poetry workshop performance

(clockwise from top left) Zeina Hashem Beck; Frank Dullaghan; Marie Dullaghan; Rosine Saad; Lara Bogdanovic

Dubai-based poet and PUNCH founder, Zeina Hashem Beck, concluded her poetry workshop at The Courtyard Playhouse with a showcase performance at the venue. The small but enthusiastic class started with a group performance of Thomas Lux's Render Render and their own responses to it, followed by individual recitals ranging from witty observational to somber emotional. Another Dubai-based poet, Frank Dullaghan, headlined the event with readings of his own works, and Beck's love poem closed the event on a saccharine note.

Local music shines at Sheraton Open Mic

Sheraton Open Mic is set among the palms in the large alfresco bar, B-Lounge, of one of Abu Dhabi's oldest and most iconic hotels. I only just found out about it, but it has been going on for many months now (first Saturday of each, usually), and I was fortunate to have found out about it just before they suspend for the summer, to continue in September.

B-Lounge

The weather was still generally pleasant, although we were interrupted momentarily by a freak one-minute burst of rain. The menu is limited as far as eatables are concerned, but there's a good bar, and the seating -- which includes amphitheater steps at the back -- is very comfortable. The whole place has a very relaxed atmosphere. A large number of people turned up to support the local artists, so there was plenty of energy at the venue.

(L-R) Larry and Max Langs; Shannon

I got there in time to hear the amazing father-son duo of Larry Langs and his seven-year-old son, Max. Langs sang a few rock songs while playing the guitar, while Max did a pretty impressive job at the drums for someone so young. They were followed by Shannon, who played acoustic guitar and sang some ballad pop covers, as well as a song that she herself wrote. A vintage vocal duo, Maxine and Nour, sang acapella next, including covers of "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Wrecking Ball". For this kind of music, though, it would be much better if they used a supporting instrumental track, or even another singer doing instrumentals vocally.

(clockwise from top left) DaisyGrim; Behold the Locus; Sound Block; Physical Graffiti

Next up was a sequence of some rather prolific bands from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. First, DaisyGrim's alt rock performance -- in which they also jammed with a couple of guest artists -- followed by rock/pop band Behold the Locus' great sound and their talented lead singer. Physical Graffiti played their folk music next, and Sound Block mixed things up with a little metal.

BlueZero (I think that's how it's spelled)

A cajon-guitar duo, BlueZero (sp?), closed the (by now, nearly 4-hour-long) event with versatile use of their instruments for reggae and blues rock.

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.

Drama Dubai Desert Monologues Showcase Performance

Drama Dubai's latest season of the Desert Monologues course wrapped up this Saturday with a monologue showcase by the course participants at DUCTAC. Everyone did pretty well; there did not seem to be any major fumbling. A lot of young-looking participants as well. My favorite ones included Zeina Menzalji as Juniper, Giane Lamb as Nervous Lady, Omar Bou Kheir as President Muffley and Frances McEwan as Rose. I also liked Nigora Normatova's parodical Cleopatra and Shilpa Mathew's female version of Calvin Candie.

Dubai Comedy Workshops 1st Graduation Performance

It's been nearly two months since Dubai-based expat comedians Ray Addison and Salman Qureshi set up Dubai Comedy Workshops and its first 6-week stand-up comedy course, also making themselves one of the first few users of the new Courtyard Playhouse performing arts space. On Saturday, they showcased out their first ever batch of course participants in a graduation special stand-up event.

Salman Qureshi

I expected it to be held at the Playhouse, but it was moved a couple of days before to the 1UP bar in TECOM. Marketing it rather boldly as the "The Michael McIntyre Warm-up Show", they roped in an ensemble of active Dubai-based stand-up comedians to perform between course participants' 5-minute showcase sets; these included Russell Bell, Lamya Tawfik and Rodger Talty, with Dubai old-timer Nitin Mirani throwing in an uproarious finale act. It was also a golden opportunity to see some great new material from Salman, who served as the show's emcee.

Brent Jenkins

As far as the course participants went, there were a lot of good bits to enjoy. I loved Brent Jenkins' new memory lapse arc (although I would expect no less from the experienced stand-up performer he is), and newcomer Janet Lundstram's opening joke was great.

Andreea Zoia

A big hand to model and fellow improvver Andreea Zoia, who not only had the stage presence one would expect of this presenter and emcee, but clever material as well. The WAG (is it in singular if there's only one of each?) also did well; Emma Addison gave us what I think was the best debut set of the night, while Sarah Murphy used a posh accent to deliver probably the most unique set of the night: a send-up of a clueless, FWP-afflicted "Palm Pamela" (a niche adaptation of the Jumeirah Jane, apparently).

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.