We've always been there: Djuwa Mroivili brings forgotten queer histories to life in Mx. CoelaCunt will live forever

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On Thursday 16 April, Mx. CoelaCunt will live forever by creator and performer Djuwa Mroivili will premiere during Motel Mozaïque Festival at Theater Rotterdam. In this musical theatre performance, Djuwa explores what never disappeared: fluid identities and queer histories erased by colonial norms.

Inspired by the coelacanth - an ancient fish long considered extinct but still alive - a performance about survival, transformation and resistance unfolds. With a mix of music, choreography, fashion and performance, Mroivili draws lines between Comorian traditions, the contemporary queers scene and life in the deep sea - a world people know little about. Musically, she draws inspiration from traditional Comorian genres such as Mangouta, Twaarab and Mayimbiyo, among others, as well as Comorian resistance music from the 1970s.

The Comoros, where Djuwa has a family history, is the starting point: a place where rituals, music and matriarchal structures converge, but where lives and identities have also been erased under colonial influence. Mx. CoelaCunt will live forever reclaims these histories and makes their erasure visible. “We have always been there -
this performance is about taking back that history” says Mroivili.

Djuwa Mroivili

Djuwa Mroivili is an interdisciplinary maker and performer based in Amsterdam. From her background as a classical pianist, she develops a practice in which music, text, performance and fashion come together. Her work explores themes of gender, history and colonial legacies.

Since 2023, Djuwa has been attached to Productiehuis Theater Rotterdam, where she previously made I Vow To Distract Forever (2025). In Mx. CoelaCunt will live forever (2026), she shares the stage with musician Damani Leidsman and performer and choreographer Naomie Pieter.

Playlist

- Theatre Rotterdam - 15 Apr
- Motel Mozaïque Festival, Rotterdam (premiere) - 16 Apr
- Theatre Kikker, Utrecht - 21 Apr
- Bijlmer Parktheater, Amsterdam - 23 Apr
- Het Nationale Theater, The Hague - 7 May
- Frascati, Amsterdam - 15 & 16 May
- Theatre Rotterdam (dernière) - 17 May