Make ‘em laugh
Are you the next Kevin Hart — or perhaps the next Meryl Streep? This weekend is for budding performers. If laughs are what you’re after, Dubai Laughing’s co-founder Salman Z Qureshi is leading a five-week stand-up workshop series, running every Friday from August 19-September 19. It takes place at the Courtyard Playhouse in Al Quoz, aiming to give over 21s all they need in the fundamentals of comedy writing and performance. It’s 3-5pm, and costs Dh1,200; call 050-9861761. Academy award hopefuls can try out in auditions for an upcoming play, Almost Maine, at the same venue on August 23 at 7pm: Use this weekend to learn your script and come prepared to read or recite a short modern monologue. (Hopefuls need to be available for performances on December 1-3 and November 27 and 30 dress rehearsals.)
Edge-of-your-seat stuff
If you’d rather watch performances, head to Abu Dhabi this weekend: For the kind of show you watch through your fingers, Cirque Adrenaline fits the bill with traditional circus acts and death-defying stunts with names nearly as frightening as the actual act: Wheel of Death and the Sphere of Fear, anyone? It runs for two nights at Al Raha Beach Theatre on August 18 and 19. Tickets are Dh95, Dh145 and Dh195 at tixbox.com. Prefer laughs? We have two stand-up comedy options for you: US comic Marlon Wayans will be at Emirates Palace on August 19, with tickets Dh145, Dh195 and Dh245; and Indian stand-up Sapan Verma (of the East India Comedy collective) brings his English-language Obsessive Comedic Disorder show to Boudoir at Dubai Marine Resort August 20; tickets from Dh100, both acts are sold on platinumlist.net.
Explore your city
We’ve got some deals and ideas to get you out of your flat (yep, we know you’ve spent the summer weekends watching TV, too). The Pullman JLT is back to its old tricks with the Bed & Brunch package, which gives brunch, an overnight stay at the hotel and beach access to Riva Beach Club for Dh299 per person. (You read that right.) You can choose from Friday’s Jazz Brunch or the roast brunch on Saturdays. The offer is on until September 30, and if you want drinks at brunch, it’s an extra Dh125; call 04-5671100. If you can take the heat, Taboo 101 at Happiness Island, Saadiyaat Island, has a ladies-only zone by the pool with a female DJ with space for 101 people (women aged over 18 only, no children) call 02-6526799. If even that sounds stressful, then how about a Gong Bath? No, this isn’t about housework: It’s a spiritual session at Village Mall Dubai’s Eco Yoga Sanctuary, taking place on August 20 from 8pm (and here’s one for your diary: They have a free yoga day on September 1); call 04-3856633.
Hear live music
South African rocker Ard Matthews (of Just Jinger) performs at McGettigan’s JLT’s The Baggot venue on August 19; tickets are Dh100 at platinumlist and doors open at 8pm. For a different vibe, head to the Iranian Club in Oud Metha for Mehfil-e-Urdu, a night of mushaira (poetry) set to music with a performance by Javed Akhtar, an awards ceremony and a tribute to poet Sahir Ludhianvi; call 04-4571141 for tickets.
