She will astonish you

Michaela Coel transformed her trauma into television that both enlightens and excites with I May Destroy You. Here, she shares her healing process, race and society’s wounds

- Olive Pometsey

MICHAELA COEL WAS RECENTLY OUT FOR A JOG WHEN SHE SPOTTED A YOUNG WOMAN riding a bike in front of her. It’s a standard sight, like things you might see on a run go, yet there was an abnormality that made this cyclist a particular point of interest for Coel. The young woman was white and strapped to her back was a Black Lives Matter sign. Other passers-by looked at the girl and scoffed; Michaela accelerated her speed.

‘ I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, “OH, MY GOD, IS THIS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH? You have to deal with maybe your family members scoffing at you for having empathy?”’ she says thoughtfully, before flashing her smile, the one she can’t hold back, even when the topic of conversation threatens to dim its light. ‘I felt so appreciative of that white girl. I sped up to catch up with her, and I went, “I appreciate you, sis!”’

Coel’s sentiment of appreciation has now been reciprocated by the whole world – or anyone who’s watched her latest groundbreaking show, I May Destroy You, at least. And it’s her show: she wrote it, she stars in it, she co-directed it with Sam Miller and she co-executive produced it. Almost singlehandedly, Coel has made the best television show of the year.

Throwing its viewers into a technicolour portrait of London, Coel stars as Arabella, a Twitter user-turned-author who is sexually assaulted the night before an important deadline. In one fell swoop, it addresses issues of consent, race, youth culture and working in the media, with the kind of nuance that is rarely seen on screen – if ever.