Hannah Kumari is the writer and performer of Eng-Er-Land, an exhilarating and vital new play exploring the connection between football and national identity.
Directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE, will tour the country to over 15 venues from 16 February to 2 April 2022. Tour Listings and ticket information can be found here.
Hannah Kumari is a performer, writer and producer originally from Warwickshire and now based in Frome, Somerset. She creates interdisciplinary work inspired by her own experiences and has been featured on BBC Sportshour, Channel 5 News, BBC Newsnight and BBC Squad Goals. Hannah was recently commissioned by The Wardrobe Ensemble to develop & present a new piece of theatre at The Theatre on The Downs in Bristol.
You’re taking Eng-Er-Land out on tour, what can you tell us about it?
ENG-ER-LAND is a one-woman play, written and performed by me, about football, race, the 90s and what it means to be English. Oh and there’s dancing too! After a sold-out run of 4 performances at Jermyn Street Theatre in London’s West End in June 2021, myself and my co-producer Alistair Wilkinson (AD of WoLAB) have put together a tour of 15 diverse venues, reaching from the South West of England to the North East.
We wanted to include traditional and non-traditional spaces so we’re really excited by the mix of museums, studio theatres, community venues, and football clubs! I’m looking forward to sharing the show with as many different communities as possible, getting people’s reactions and hopefully starting some positive conversations about race and identity.
You mightalso like
What inspired you to write the play?
In June 2020, in Lockdown in London and in the wake of the BLM protests, some counter protests sprung up around protecting statues. On a particular weekend I saw some videos online of groups of men behaving in an aggressive and anti-social way, and a lot of them seemed to belong to a particular group with links to football.
This prompted me to reflect on my experiences of going to football in the 90s as a mixed-race teenager, and in the present day as a woman often going to games alone. I wanted to create a piece which was fun and uplifting, celebrating my long love of football and the Coventry City glory days of the 90s(!), but which would also encourage people to consider how their behaviour affects others.
As I started writing the play I realised that it was also going to be an examination of my own mixed heritage identity, that naturally came out and is very tied in with football. I think there’s an undeniable connection between football and national identity in this country, and core themes of the piece are Englishness and belonging.
Did you find it difficult to translate your own personal story for the stage?
It’s always hard to distance yourself when writing work rooted in lived experience, and to keep clear in your mind which of your own experiences serve the story you are trying to tell. I certainly found this a challenge, but was supported in my writing process by dramaturg Milli Bhatia who helped me gain clarity around this. ENG-ER-LAND is by no means totally autobiographical but it is inspired by things I have experienced and witnessed.
Has it been daunting to confront such big issues in Eng-Er-Land?
They are big issues but I have been really supported by all of my collaborators and also Anwar Uddin, head of the Fans For Diversity campaign. I think they are issues which need to be explored theatrically, and I have tried to present them in a way which doesn’t make the audience feel that they are being lectured, by using the lens of a teenage girl. And 90s nostalgia!
How did Rikki Beadle-Blair get involved, and what’s it been like working with such a respected director?
I first worked with Rikki in early 2018, after I responded to a callout for an R&D. We’ve kept in touch since then and worked on another R&D together before ENG-ER-LAND. I’ve been to some of his workshops and he’s also given me some mentoring.
Rikki is the perfect director for ENG-ER-LAND because of his energy and lived experience of the themes, so we approached him and lucky for us he said yes. He’s not only directed the show but helped me a lot with additional script edits as we’ve moved through rehearsals. Working with Rikki is pure joy, he’s one of the most generous, inspiring and insanely talented people I know. I’m really looking forward to being in a room with him again before heading out on tour.
What made you choose to perform the play yourself, and what do you think will be the biggest challenge for you combining be writer and performer?
That’s a good question as I have never really thought of it as a choice! I started speaking the play rather than writing it, recording it on voice memos then writing it down and before I knew it I’d written loads, always performing each section out loud as I went.
So I feel like the two things have just gone hand in hand and never considered getting anyone else in to play the role. In terms of the biggest challenge, maybe increased vulnerability? As artists we are always vulnerable but there’s something about performing a piece you’ve also written which feels different to when I’ve performed in other people’s work as an actor. The fact that it is inspired by real-life is another layer of vulnerability!
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see Eng-Er-Land?
From the reaction we’ve had so far, I’d say there are things in the show that people of all ages and from all backgrounds will identify with. It’s fun and refreshing, and you don’t need to like football!
For further information about ENG-ER-LAND visit https://www.wolab.co.uk/eng-er-land
