Review: The Theatre by Guy Manoukian

Dubai is no stranger to dinner-and-a-show concepts.

A few years ago, the city was seemingly overrun with cabaret clubs, offering punters the chance to gawk at acrobats and dancers while shoveling elaborately decorated plates of food down them.

But the past twelve months has not been kind to the restaurant and entertainment trades, which has left a grand piano-sized hole in the market – one that that Lebanese-Armenian musician and composer Guy Manoukian is keen to fill.

Enter The Theater Dubai (from stage left, naturally), and what is one of the most ambitious cabaret concepts to ever lift its curtains in the city. Located at The Fairmont Dubai (in the space formerly known as Cavalli Club) entertainment involves more than 25 acts – everyone from salsa-dancing singers to rope-swinging acrobats are present and correct – scored with a Manoukian sountrack.

The acts are eclectic, to say the least. Performances range from a house band covering lounge staples (such as Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To The Moon’) but this time in Arabic, to Go-Go dancers parading up and down the raised platform that spans the dining room.

It’s a dizzying number of acts, who perform almost back-to-back with seemingly little rhyme or reason. Why is a performer dressed as a jaguar (who also happens to jump through a variety of hoops) followed by an example of a traditional Lebanese dabke dance? Who knows?

The food too follows much the same suit; sushi and beef gyoza are served alongside oysters and caviar, lobster linguini and wagyu tomahawk steak (all with the obligatory truffle shaved on top). It’s all very tasty, but makes it near impossible to define if the venue specializes in any sort of cuisine.

Fortunately, the near-eclectic variety is very much the point here, as it keeps things interesting. Other cabaret concepts tend to prioritize themes or scripted performances, which is fun for a single visit – but not something you’re going back to again and again.

The Theater’s penchant for baffling combinations means no two visits will ever be the same, and while you’ll be hard pressed to define what exactly the restaurant is and does (beyond simply offering a dinner-and-a-show), the experience is certainly not something you’ll forget anytime soon.