Fans For Diversity And The Football Supporters' Association Present ENG-ER-LAND At King's Head Theatre

Hannah Kumari's smash hit solo-show about football and identity comes to King's Head Theatre for South Asian History month, starring Netflix's Nikhita Lesler as Lizzie in a new production from director Max Lindsay, who is also founder of Southampton FC's LGBTQ+ supporters' group Rainbow Laces.

ENG-ER-LAND is inspired by Hannah's personal experiences of going to Coventry City matches in the late 90s and growing up as a mixed-race teenager in a small midlands town. The show blends storytelling, dance and 90s nostalgia to explore themes of belonging, identity, football culture and the age-old question of ‘where is home'.

After performing and touring the show for 3 years, receiving audience and critical acclaim and being nominated for Best Stage Production at The Asian Media Awards, Hannah passes the ball to Nikhita and will produce the show through her role as Fans For Diversity Campaign manager at The Football Supporters' Association (The FSA). The FSA and Fans For Diversity supported the original production alongside Arts Council England and Hannah joined the campaign in January 2024.

Hannah says “I wrote ENG-ER-LAND to highlight some of the struggles faced by groups who have traditionally been underrepresented in the stands at football, and to celebrate my lifelong obsession with the game. The play is also an exploration of my mixed heritage identity and the idea of Englishness - what does it mean to be English, who gets to define that, and where does football fit in?”

The timely return of ENG-ER-LAND follows a recent revealing and shocking documentary from Sky Sports Football's Hidden Talent which investigates why there are still so few players of South Asian Heritage in both the men's and women's game, described by some as a ‘football emergency'.

More than four million people with South Asian heritage live in the UK. But only 22 male players out of approximately 3,700 professionals, have South Asian backgrounds and the women's game faces similar problems. According to research conducted in 2023 by Kick It Out and the FA, "Asian participants in football are deemed to be most likely to experience discriminatory abuse based on ethnic origin.” *

Millie Chanderana, midfielder for Blackburn Rovers FC said, “Fandom is often people's first connection with football culture and traditionally this has been lacking in South Asian communities, for a variety of reasons. Shows like Hannah's are an important part of this conversation as it celebrates both her love of football and her mixed South Asian heritage. As a person of mixed heritage myself (White & Asian) I feel a particular resonance with the piece as it tells a similar story to mine of what it was like growing up watching football and playing football as a female”.

Hannah Kumari is a writer, producer and former actor who manages the Fans For Diversity Campaign alongside Nilesh Chauhan.

Hannah's relationship with The FSA began in 2020 when Fans For Diversity supported the development and subsequent tour of the original production of ENG-ER-LAND.

As a writer, Hannah is represented by Maddie O'Dwyer at Berlin Associates. Her work considers themes of mixed heritage identity, addiction and the intersection between class and race, often through the lens of football. Hannah's debut short film ‘Devi – देवी' was broadcast on Sky Arts in May 2022. She is currently producing and writing the libretto for a brand new opera inspired by the history of Arsenal FC in Woolwich, which will premiere at Woolwich Works in 2025. Hannah is also writing a new play about the Duleep Singh siblings for Eastern Angles Theatre Company, touring in Spring 2025 and the libretto for a new English version of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for OperaUpClose, touring in early 2026.

Nikhita Lesler plays Lizzie. She is known for playing Lady W in Netflix's Blood Sex and Royalty. She gained further recognition for her portrayal of Daya Chanbal in BBC's The Sixth Commandment. Other screen credits include Casualty (BBC).In theatre, Nikhita played Poppy in the recent West End tour of Noises Off directed by Lindsay Posner. Other credits include Jade in Glitterball (Rifco) and Parwana in Parwana (Tara Theatre).

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