Become a Member
Showbiz

South Asian-Jewish actor brings representation to football in ENG-ER-LAND

Nikhita Lesler plays a young mixed race football fan in the latest rendition of Hannah Kumari’s one-woman play

August 5, 2024 09:19
NikhitaLesler-ENG-ER-LAND-JackJeffreys.jpg
Nikhita Lesler stars as Lizzie in Hannah Kumari's play ENG-ER-LAND. (Photo: Jack Jeffreys)
2 min read

Nikhita Lesler is trying something new.

After playing a series regular in Netflix’s Blood, Sex & Royalty and roles in the Sixth Commandment and BBC’s Casualty, the up-and-coming actor is starring in a one-woman show that places both her love of football and her South Asian heritage on centre stage.

In the play ENG-ER-LAND, it’s 1997 and 14-year-old Lizzie seems to be the only mixed-race girl at the Coventry City matches in her small midland town. Created by performer and writer Hannah Kumari and presented by Fans for Diversity and the Football Supporters’ Association, ENG-ER-LAND was inspired by Kumari’s own experience as a football fan in the 90s, and the story speaks to something deeply personal in Lesler, too.

“I've never seen something related to football on stage with someone that looks like me before,” she told the JC. “I quite liked, with this particular script, that Lizzie shows that football fans can look like anyone and be anyone. And that really spoke to me because I'm into football myself, probably not as much as Lizzie, but I don't think I look particularly like a stereotypical football fan.”