The new show is coming to The National Football Museum in Manchester in March which tackles a love of football, racism and national identity through the eyes of a South Asian female football

ENG-ER-LAND,written and performed by Hannah Kumari, directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE, blends storytelling, dance and music with 90s nostalgia and tackle’s themes of racism, identity politics, lad culture & working-class masculinity. Hannah’s very personal story follows her own experience of racism as a football fan and her struggles to be accepted into a historically white, male, working class world.

Hannah says: “I wrote ENG-ER-LAND in June 2020 in the wake of the BLM protests and seeing supposed football fans acting in a very aggressive and anti-social way. It made me sad and angry that we are still in this position, and I felt compelled to reflect on my own experiences at football matches as a mixed raced teenager growing up in the 90s, and now as a woman.”

Hannah adds: “The play is also an exploration of my mixed-race identity, and the idea of Englishness – what does it mean to be English and who gets to define that? I wanted to write a play that was fun and uplifting, whilst also confronting big issues.”

This timely tour, supported by The Football Supporter’s Association (The FSA), follows in the wake of shocking increases in the levels of race hate and homophobic abuse, around football matches and across social media – in spite of the season being put on hold for several months due to Covid-19. Findings by Kick It Out, the English football’s equality and inclusion organisation, noted in 2019/20 an 53% increase in reported racial abuse in the professional game between this season and last.

Even more alarmingly, Kick It Out received 117 reports of abuse based on sexual orientation compared to 60 last season – up by 95%.

Anwar Uddin, a former pro footballer, FA Council Member and Campaign Manager for The Football Supporters Association’s (FSA) Fan’s For Diversity, a campaign which works to promote inclusivity in football adds: “I hope that, through empathy and shared experience, audiences around the country can really connect with Hannah’s play in a positive way and are encouraged to reflect on their own behaviour and more likely to stand up for others.”

Kumari will also be making her debut on Sky Arts in late Spring 2022. Her new short film (Devi) which she has written and stars in, was commissioned by Sky Arts, Coventry City of Culture, The Space Arts and Shoot Festival. Kumari originally developed the idea through a commission with The Wardrobe Ensemble. Devi is about a woman of mixed heritage trapped in a cycle of addiction.She encounters an ancestral figure in an unlikely place, who unlocks something in her as she searches for help.

March 10-11 National Football Museum (Manchester)

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