„Die Fremden sind die Freunde“ / The Strangers are the friends / הזרים הם החברים
"Die Fremden sind die Freunde" (The Strangers are the Friends“) by Gidi Farhi and Mati Shemoelof fuses music and poetry into a performative, poetic *"banquet"*, exploring migration and the complex diversity of the Jewish diaspora. Playing with the Hebrew language and improvisational music alongside contemporary poetry, it creates a dialogue between past and present. As an empathetic politicization of individual emotions, the project gently fosters collective understanding of the Jewish diaspora experience.
The songs move between Tel Aviv, Haifa, Prague, Berlin, and Jerusalem, following the emotional map of the Jewish diaspora: a father searching for a lost child, a man aging inside his own reflection, memories of homeland and exile, prayers that fall silent, masks of identity, and the fragile inheritance of a father’s name. Each song stands as a small story of migration, vulnerability, and the human need for connection.
Sung in Hebrew, the project preserves the rhythm and intimacy of the language - a language carrying both ancient roots and modern fractures.The collaboration between Gidi and Mati remains simple and brave: one composer, one poet, one room, allowing the songs to stay exposed, human, and close to the listener.
The Strangers Are the Friends offers a meeting point between past and present, diaspora and belonging, personal memory and shared emotion.It is a delicate reminder that sometimes the stranger becomes the friend - and the friend becomes the one who helps you return to yourself.An English translation of the songs will be read by Thomas Schütt. Additionally, some suprise guests will be performing with Gidi & Mati at the event.
Tickets cost €10 / €5 in advance and €15 / €8 at the box office.
Mati Shemoelof
Mati Shemoelof, born in 1972, is a writer, poet, and curator. Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, he now lives and works primarily in Berlin. He has published twelve books in Israel and Germany to date, including eight volumes of poetry. His work is diverse and spans fiction, poetry, plays, essays, texts for art exhibitions, short stories, and more. His first publication in Germany was the bilingual poetry collection Bagdad | Haifa | Berlin (Aphorisma Verlag, 2019). This was followed by I Call the Little Boat in My Hand a Scar: Poems (Parasitenpresse, 2023). For WDR he developed the radio play Das künftige Ufer (2018). In 2025, his novel Der Preis will be published by PalmArtPress. In 2024 he received a grant from the German Literature Fund for his first book written in German, Yiddish Sounds, German Words, which will be published in autumn 2026 by Elif Verlag.
Gidi Farhi
Israeli musician and composer Gidi Farhi, born in Ashdod in 1976 and based in Berlin since 2006, blends folk, Oriental, and experimental music in his projects. Trained at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem and having studied the sitar in India, he shapes innovative musical formats such as the live-composing trio “Genes”.
Thomas Schütt
Thomas Schütt, born in 1979 in the Middle Rhine region, combines philosophy, German studies, and acting in interdisciplinary projects spanning theater, dance, and performance art. Through ÉCOLEFLÂNEURS and EX!T Ausgangspunkt Theater, he has developed the concept of dramaturgie trouvée—a principle of situational art and serendipitous encounters.Thomas Schütt, 1979 am Mittelrhein geboren, verbindet Philosophie, Germanistik und Schauspiel in interdisziplinären Projekten zwischen Theater, Tanz und Performance Art. Mit ÉCOLEFLÂNEURS und EX!T Ausgangspunkt Theater entwickelt er die „dramaturgie trouvée“ – ein Prinzip situativer Kunst und zufälliger Begegnungen.
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