Week 11
11th March – 17th March 2019
Lots of stuff going on in the real world this week during the evenings – visits from friends, applications for different funding opportunities, and a bloody cold. Which means, that apart from Derry Girls and Fleabag, the only thing I watched was Chewing Gum – but my gosh, what a treat it was.
Chewing Gum - Series 1 (2015)
Written & Created by Michaela Coel
Director: Tom Marshall
All4
I remember seeing the ads for this on E4 back in 2015 and thinking, “I should watch that.” And I didn’t - possibly due to having a new baby, but who knows?
Well, this is bonkers and joyously so - and I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at something in ages. This is BIG and broad comedy - Think Derry Girls cartoon level but set now in Tower Hamlets. Although Creator/lead actor Coel actually knows how to control her rubber face (unlike some people) - she can flip from stunning beauty to goon in a second and is not afraid to humiliate her lead character for a laugh. This is about sex and sexual frustration so the humour is very graphic - but it never feels exploitative. Tracey is the butt of the joke but not in a gross, misogynistic way - we’re laughing because she’s clueless not because she’s horny. She is allowed to own her sexual drive and never shamed for it. This show frowns on the forces of repression.
And the characters are all funny and sharp but have heart - Tracey is brilliant but hands down, Susan Wokoma as her sister, Cynthia, steals every scene she is in for me - the two play off each other brilliantly.
There’s only one more series left to watch on All4 - which I’m sad about but glad I’ve discovered Coel and Wokoma for myself now and can see why there is so much buzz about both.