Kelapa Muda Kobra Theaterproducties / Olivier Diepenhorst

Three theatre makers of Moluccan descent – Joenoes Polnaija, Tara Hetharia and Jefta Tanate – delve into their personal family histories and together show the richness and struggle of 75 years of Moluccan history in the Netherlands.

In Joenoes’ family, the suitcases were always packed, because the family would one day return to the Moluccas. Joenoes wants his own children to know: we also belong here, in the Netherlands. So that they can truly put down roots. Tara grew up with few stories about her Moluccan ancestors. When she goes on a quest, she discovers that she is more connected to her Moluccan roots than she herself knew. Jefta has one foot in the Dutch community and one foot in the Moluccan community. He feels at home in both, but sometimes also misunderstood. Lovingly, curiously and critically, this third generation examines itself and the past in order to consciously focus on the future. Kelapa Muda is a connecting performance full of music, rituals and movement about the question of what it means to be Moluccan in the Netherlands today.