WHEN IT SNOWS IN APRIL
If there was one thing to learn from the staggering success of Benedict Lombe’s Shifters and Rye Lane it’s that people have been waiting for Black British love stories to be told. Romance that captures all its nuances, while maintaining the warmth and lightheartedness of the rom-coms we grew up on. I’m pleased to say that Chantelle Alle achieves this with When It Snows in April.
April and Francis meet in secondary school, seemingly polar opposites, but strike up a friendship that grows into an intense and beautiful love. It’s not a walk in the park for either party, with both struggling to navigate the maze of adolescence as well as complicated lives at home. However, they find solace in one another. Alle weaves various forms of love, self-identity, heartbreak and loss into a highly engaging and bittersweet two-hander, performed brilliantly by Elise Palmer as April and Kofi De-Graft-Jordan as Francis.
WISIA captures the nostalgia of millennial (and at a stretch gen z) black British teenagehood. Projected onto a screen behind the actors are excerpts of Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman - the book that April is constantly rereading - BBM conversations and Facebook statuses that let us know we are back in 2011 where the story begins.
We are eased into the play by smooth saxaophone stylings, as Francis meets April who is reading her comfort book, by herself as she often is. Shy, slightly awkward but sweet and self-assured, April is accosted by Francis who is confident bordering on cocky, but warm and gentle. They immediately strike up an unlikely friendship built upon mutual curiosity, and respect for each other’s differences.
Blatantly obvious to everyone but themselves, April and Francis fall in love. There are some obstacles, namely Francis’ girlfriend Jennifer, and April’s reluctance to let herself feel her emotions, but it is a drunken kiss at Francis' sixteenth birthday party that finally brings them together.
Their relationship is not an easy one, as they discover that their paths of self-discovery may not always coincide. Grappling with trauma, loss and a fear of failure, the pair grow apart but find themselves in a chance reunion ten years later and welcome a different kind of love between them. Xanthus’ direction complimented Alle’s story effortlessly. She positions them across a simple set that manages to create miles between them when they are at odds, but closes the gap when they learn to accept themselves and each other.
Monterrey J’s sound design walks us through the evolution of April and Francis' relationship, with a soundtrack consisting of funky house, old school Nicki Minaj and South London’s National Anthem that had the audience with gun fingers in the air. This was tempered with soulful original compositions that felt reminiscent of Love Jones, and spoke the words that April and Francis’ teenage minds couldn’t seem to communicate.
In WISIA, Palmer and De-Graft-Jordan were able to tackle extremely sensitive topics such as grief, abortion and murder and still maintain the youthfulness of their characters authentically. Both shone in their roles, individually and in tandem with each other and brought Alle’s story to life beautifully and earnestly. Engaging the audience directly and indirectly, both were captivating to watch.
The end of the play sees April and Francis after a decade apart following an intense argument where they bare their difficult truths before each other. While their reunion was satisfying, it did feel slightly rushed, and over-explained the development of both characters during their time apart.
In summary though, WISIA was a joyous experience, a gripping and original story with a stunning performance from its cast and excellent execution from its writer and creatives that deserves a long and sold out run.
By Melody Adebisi
★★★★☆
