Leki Jackson-Bourke is of Tongan, Niuean and Samoan descent, and is a graduate of the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts, and an emerging Pasifika artist who has toured both nationally and internationally with New Zealand companies, including: Massive Theatre Company, Kila Kokonut Krew and Armstrong Creative. His international tours include: Massive Company's The Brave (Hawaii Tour, 2015), The Factory by Kila Kokonut Krew (Adelaide Cabaret Festival, 2014; Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2014), My Name is Pilitome by Vela Manusaute (Niue Arts Festival, 2015). Leki received the 2015 Auckland Is My Playground Award for Youth Leadership in Performing Arts awarded by Auckland council. Aside from acting, Leki is a playwright, producer and choreographer.
In 2017, he was named Best Newcomer at the Auckland Theatre Awards for a parody Meet the Fakas.
In 2019, Leki was Emerging Pasifika Writer in Resident at the International Institute of Modern Letters, recipient of the Creative New Zealand Emerging Pasifika Artist Award and the Creative New Zealand Todd New Writer's Bursary Grant.
In 2023 Leki was commissioned by Auckland Theatre Company to adapt the film Red, White and Brass for the stage. Anapela Polata’ivao and Vela Manusaute’s premiere production this July played to over 12,000 people, 51% of which were first time audiences. The play was hailed by Theatreview as “irreverent, heartfelt, moving and hilarious … a play that generally defies gravity”.
In 2024 Leki was awarded the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award.