'Mamma Mia!' will be one of the first big productions to be staged at Dubai Opera since the pandemic began. Courtesy Dubai Opera
'Mamma Mia!' will be one of the first big productions to be staged at Dubai Opera since the pandemic began. Courtesy Dubai Opera
'Mamma Mia!' will be one of the first big productions to be staged at Dubai Opera since the pandemic began. Courtesy Dubai Opera
'Mamma Mia!' will be one of the first big productions to be staged at Dubai Opera since the pandemic began. Courtesy Dubai Opera

'Mamma Mia!' is coming to Dubai Opera for the first time


Evelyn Lau
  • English
  • Arabic

Smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! is coming to Dubai Opera for the first time.

The global stage sensation is set to run for 11 days, from September 13 to 22, as part of its UK and international tour, which is celebrating 22 years since debuting in London's West End in April 1999.

This is one of the first big productions to come to the venue since the start of the pandemic. Set to the ever-popular music of the Swedish pop group Abba, Mamma Mia! tells the funny tale of a single mother, her daughter and three possible fathers, and unfolds on a Greek island.

Songs featured include Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes it All and I Have a Dream.

"This is Mamma Mia!'s first visit to Dubai Opera. It's the perfect show, and our audiences can expect an exceptional production of the world's most-loved musical. This is musical theatre at its very best," a spokesperson for Emaar, developer of Dubai Opera, said.

"Abba’s music is incredibly popular across the world and [it is] combined with the ultimate feel-good story."

To date, the musical has been seen by more than 65 million people in 50 productions and in 16 different languages, according to the website of the show's creator and producer, Judy Crammer. Mamma Mia! is the ninth-longest-running show on Broadway, where it ran from 2001 to 2015.

In 2008, it was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried, with a sequel released in 2018.

"We are really thrilled to be bringing Mamma Mia! to Dubai to the extraordinarily beautiful Dubai Opera as we celebrate 22 years since the much-loved musical first opened in London's West End," said Craymer.

"Mamma Mia! is a truly heart-warming story and we can't wait to celebrate the wonderful music of Abba with the audiences of Dubai!"

Ticket information is yet to be announced; dubaiopera.com

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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

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March-May and September-November

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Star rating: 2/5

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Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.

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Always use only regulated platforms

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Report to local authorities

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)

Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)

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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

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The Kingfisher Secret
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