The band's visit

The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra from Egypt travels to Israel for a concert. Due to a mix-up in names, however, they do not reach their destination but instead end up in a remote village in the middle of the Negev desert. Life there is aimless and monotonous: the bus runs only once a day, and there is no hotel. Under the spell of the desert sky, the stories of the eccentric locals and the visiting musicians intertwine in unexpected ways.

With its haunting music by David Yazbek (The Full Monty, Tootsie) and its finely ironic book by Itamar Moses, The Band’s Visit is a jewel of the musical theatre genre. The show won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score. The original film by Eran Kolirin received the “Coup de coeur” award at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as honours at several other festivals, and was released in the German-speaking world under the title Die Band von nebenan.

The Band’s Visit is, in today’s particularly tense situation in the Middle East, a symbol of hope that dialogue between conflicting parties is still possible.