Nisha took her first step in a school play, re-enacting the moment Neil Armstrong stepped down onto the moon, and was well on her way of being hooked on performing. Growing up following her interest for drama after curiosity got the better of her while walking past a drama class at first school. Nisha continued her interest by going on to study contemporary dance and theatre at college, mime and physical theatre at The Desmond Jones School in London prior to studying a B.A. Honours degree in Theatre at Dartington College of Arts in Devon.
After graduating with a B.A. (Hons) in Theatre in November 2001, she worked at Windsor Arts Centre in Berkshire in various capacities: starting out as a volunteer, paid administrator, artist/artist’s assistant for Children’s Birthday Parties and workshops, house-managing the venue and being promoted to working as an Arts Education Manager. Alongside this, Nisha continued to create and devise her own small-scale live performance projects as well as collaborating with other arts practitioners and working with varying small-scale theatre/dance companies.
In 2008 as part of her endeavour to perform and work in the creative industries, Nisha wrote a letter of introduction to the BBC, and the rest, as they say, is history. Presenting on CBeebies is not all Nisha does. Nisha has also completed work on her first short film. Her passion for acting, theatre and film continues, having worked for The Fetch Theatre in 2009; receiving intensive training in Bunraku style-puppetry and touring a one-person puppet show ‘Discovering the Ramayana’, while delivering drama/puppet workshops to schools, youth groups and Art-Centre’s in the West Midlands and Shropshire. During the summer of 2012 & 2013, Nisha worked with Kazzum Theatre delivering playful theatre to children in unusual spaces in ‘Addressed to a Friend’. Nisha completed a successful run playing Princess Jasmine in ‘Aladdin’ at The Thwaites Empire Theatre in 2013/14. In June & November 2016. Nisha appeared in the opening episode of Citizen Khan’s 5th Series on BBC 1. Nisha performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival 2017, with Avva Laff Productions, on ‘The Grimmest of Grim Tales’ and appeared in Hollyoaks.
Closer-to-home, Nisha often puppeteers with Beautiful Creatures Theatre Company, having worked on ‘The Gift’, ‘Rat Choc Chip’, ‘Octopot’, ‘Fizzlebert Stump; The boy who ran away from the Circus’ and ‘Bell Orchestra’.. Nisha has sung live with bands, The Herberts and also, Richmond and the Groovolution. Nisha completed a 9 – week run in a dual-role as Dandini and Fairy Godmother in Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s production of Cinderella 2018/19 and has most recently completed a 4-month tour with Illyria Theatre Company in, ‘The Further Adventures of Dr. Dolittle.’
Nisha continues to create and perform in her own devised-based theatre projects locally and regionally, live and online with, ‘There are Secret’s, Dear Sister’, ‘I’s for SALE’ and ‘The Walnut Tree’; not only raising awareness of the arts locally but also working as an artist mentor/coach, producer and performing as a storyteller. She created three short films, more recently, one during lockdown plus a collaboration on a slow media short film, ‘Nisha’s Allotment’ with Small Silence and secured working on her own arts DYCP project, ‘Paper Tales, funded by the ACE developing her Creative Writing and Illustration.
She has also been an active member of the globally based Co-reality Collective, co-organising and performing in epic immersive online parties (mainly reciting poetry and being a zoom room or spatial chat host). She also continues to enjoy learning to play the guitar, loves to dance and grow her own at her allotment.
Nisha Anil 