Reflecting on my days of shaky spoken word performances in dusky theatre halls in London Town, I remember the first time I ever heard Michaela Coel speak. It was a Thursday night at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and a young Coel walked into the packed venue and sat down at a table, pulled out a book and began reading quietly to herself. One by one, each poet was called up to the dimly lit stage and left their beating hearts behind them as they trudged back to their seats. Even I, with my A4 sized paper in hand, shaking like a leaf, managed to get a few bars out before crawling back to my seat blurry eyed. Then it was Michaela’s turn. She introduced herself and told us that she would be performing her poem. The entire room watched in awe, as Coel transformed the stage to a bookish apartment, and battled to be acknowledged by “Miss First Class Degree,” her well-read, blonde, roommate. We all knew then and there that Coel was a star. The beginnings of Chewing Gum were already in motion. Fast forward to 2017 and Coel’s critically acclaimed seriesChewing Gum is an international success and we were all praying for a third season.
Before the summer’s end, fans of Michaela Coel’s hit series, Chewing Gum were thrown by the news that it would not be returning to our screens. Feeling that she’d hit her “creative peak” with the two season, BAFTA award-winning show, Coel was determined to move on to new ventures. And that’s exactly what she’s been doing. Having landed a deal with Netflix for her Camden-based musical, Been So Long, word is that Coel is also working on “two top-secret projects” for the streaming giants.
Per Screendaily, “The first is a drama with the BBC that is in production until December, while the second is a dark comedy Coel is writing, directing and producing, and in which she will also star. It will shoot in London.”
At present, no more details are known about either of the projects, but we’re not worried about that. Everything Coel touches turns to gold!
