Tonight, and Danny Bhoy, is a little surprise, an early anniversary celebration. It’s not a big one – the anniversary of our first date – but we like to mark the occasion. Except I couldn’t find anything on for that night, so tonight it is.
I’ve bought tickets to see Danny Bhoy, a Scottish comedian that I haven’t heard anything about. This is a pure gift, a comedy show is not something that I’d usually seek out but my husband enjoys it and has been slowly working his way through the Netflix catalogue when he needs to unwind. It usually sends me to bed after a few minutes but tonight is for him.
I get a call late afternoon saying that he’s out at a meeting and, rather than me meeting him at work, he’ll come home first. This means we can leave together which feels a bit more like a date so I’m glad.
We head off at a reasonable time but still have to face peak hour on Sheikh Zayed Road. I weave slowly and carefully through the traffic while he makes a couple of phone calls to ensure we can find a restaurant that’s open. It’s Monday night and even on the weekend, most places wouldn’t open until at least 7pm.
Kenza at the Ramada Downtown seems like a good option. It has valet parking, is close to the Opera and, most importantly, it’s open. He’d like to have a beer but they don’t serve alcohol. Given that it ticks the other boxes, he’s willing to ‘settle’ tonight.
Apart from a good vegetable curry the meal is unremarkable but the setting is nice, if somewhat quiet. We don’t mind. It suits us tonight and we sit outside with a view of the Burj Khalifa, enjoy our meal and talk.
After dinner we walk down Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard towards Dubai Opera, coming across a banana duck installation and some picture worthy views along the way. In this respect the Dubai Opera house is always photo worthy. There are some impressive buildings in this city but I think if I am pressed to pick a favorite, this is it. Big enough to be imposing, small enough to avoid being overly ostentatious. It does what it is designed to do well, it’s eye catching, architecturally impressive and visually pleasing. The interior space is equal to the outside in all these aspects.
Inside, we have enough time for a drink before the show. Tonight, somewhat surprisingly, they are allowing drinks into the auditorium. Perhaps because comedy is usually delivered in a pub. No complaints here. We enter and are seated and Danny Bhoy introduces himself to the stage. He is witty, on topic and completely at ease with the crowd. Perhaps what I like the most is that he doesn’t rely on being rude or completely crass to earn his laughs.
He retells amusing stories from his travels, particularly staying in B&Bs and hotels. There are the usual Trump and Brexit jokes and the material is genuinely funny. He spends an inordinate amount of time discussing a hair cut and has the audience in stitches. There is a somewhat awkward moment with comments about Arabic music. Luckily most of the audience is British or American. Maybe a handful of Canadians. I’m not sure how the Lebanese gentleman is feeling right now.
Menu (back), Sean Connolly, Dubai Opera
At interval we take the lift to the rooftop and enjoy a drink at the new Sean Connolly restaurant & bar. It’s beautiful, and I take a sneak peak at the menu with a view to coming back here. Definitely worth a try.
We return to the auditorium and the rest of the show is equally funny. I was surprised to hear that it was expected to run for 2 hours. It’s after 10pm when we leave and I marvel at how one person has kept us entertained for that long – no props, costumes, dancing or singing.
He has though and it was highly enjoyable. I walk out smiling. Perhaps I’ll check out some of that Netflix catalogue after all.
Would I Return?
Yes, time and time again. The Dubai Opera house has only been open a little more than a year but I can’t imagine Dubai without it. Evita is next on my list with performance dates for Jan/Feb 2018.
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