Symposium O: Love Past Apocalypse 2026 in Abu Dhabi

Symposium O: Love Past Apocalypse is a performance at The Black Box Theater in The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, running from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 November 2026. It takes the form of a symposium: a group of scholars, artists, students and workers gathers to ask what love can still mean in the face of destruction, uncertainty and apocalyptic futures, and the audience is drawn into the question with them.

The run is short, three days on Saadiyat Island, and booking is required for every performance.

What the piece is about

The organisers sum up the show in one line: it explores how love endures, resists and connects us amid uncertainty, destruction and apocalyptic futures. That is a big subject, and the production approaches it through a very particular frame. Rather than telling a story with a hero and a plot, it stages a meeting, the kind of gathering where people take turns to speak, test ideas and argue.

The twist is that the meeting will not cooperate. In the words of the show’s own description, everyone in the room is caught between love as a concept and love as action, and finds themselves trapped inside an event that refuses to become what they want it to be. That refusal becomes the drama. The piece then asks the audience and performers to struggle with it together and build a shared experience out of it.

The title will ring a bell for anyone who has read Plato’s Symposium, the ancient dialogue in which guests at a dinner take turns to speak in praise of love. Here the setting is the present day, and the backdrop is a world that often feels as if it is ending, which raises the stakes of the old question.

What to expect in the room

Expect performance that sits somewhere between theatre and live debate. The characters on stage are a mix of thinkers and doers, scholars and artists alongside students and workers, so the conversation is likely to swing between theory and lived experience. The gap between talking about love and actually practising it is the thread that runs through the evening.

Because the piece describes its outcome as a shared experience, you are part of the event rather than a spectator watching from the dark. It suits people who are happy to listen closely, sit with ideas that do not resolve neatly, and leave with something to talk about. The source does not list a running time, a language or a cast, so check your booking confirmation for those details.

The venue: The Black Box at The Arts Center

The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, presents music, theatre, dance, film, poetry and interdisciplinary work, and is a core part of the university’s public life. The Black Box is its most flexible space: it can be arranged in many configurations, with capacity ranging from 99 to 300 depending on the layout, and it has full lighting and sound. That flexibility suits a piece like this one, which wants the audience close to the action and part of the conversation.

Getting onto campus works differently from a city theatre. Visitors enter through the East or West car parks or the Welcome Center, and you need to show both your event ticket and the campus access QR code that NYUAD Campus Safety sends by email. A Green Al Hosn status is no longer required for public events in Abu Dhabi, and masks are no longer required in most indoor public places, including campus buildings.

By car, the ticket page suggests Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Street (E10) through Al Mina, then Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street (E12) to Laffan Street, with GPS for the final approach. By bus, route 170 runs to the Saadiyat New York University 3 stop, a short walk away. Taxis and ride-hailing apps also serve the campus. For wheelchair bookings and other access needs, the box office can be reached at nyuad.boxoffice@nyu.edu.

Who it suits

This is one for audiences who like experimental, discussion-led theatre: students and academics, regulars at The Arts Center, and anyone who enjoys a performance that asks questions rather than handing out answers. If you are new to Saadiyat and looking for something more thought-provoking than a standard night out, it is a good introduction to the kind of work NYU Abu Dhabi programmes.

For more on the capital’s cultural calendar, browse our art and culture listings, see what is on stage in our shows and theatre guide, explore more things to do in Abu Dhabi, or check the full November calendar.