The Band’s Visit is about the interaction between two groups of different ethnicities over the course of one night. An Egyptian band lands in a desolate town in Israel by mistake due to a discrepancy in speech at the bus stop, and they have no choice but to stay with the Israeli civilians living there. The band splits up and stays the night with different civilians, and the audience gets to watch different perspectives of people’s lives in the play.
The culture is a big part of the play from both the Egyptian characters and the Israeli ones. Media is shown through references to music and television, such as Om Kulsoom and Omar Sharif. Arranged marriage being a part of Egyptian culture is brought up by one of the characters, to show a difference in lifestyle from the Israeli characters discussing dating.
The Band’s Visit is a very entertaining and comedic play that discusses the differences in two cultures while also showing how they can connect and interact with each other if they must.