Two Mariams, One Stage: JJ Classics Production Casts Sociology Sophomore, Osaremeh Ijebor, Opposite Veteran Thespian

 

Ijebor’s presence on stage will inevitably invite comparisons with Temi Agoro. While Agoro has the formal thespian training to boost her performance, Ijebor’s approach to the role may be done simply with outsider instincts and adaptability.

AUTHOR: Eniola Awolesi K.

At University of Ibadan’s Theatre Arts department, the theatre and its stagecraft-art are seen as a profession, and more than that, a heritage. So in casting decisions, the casting of a non-thespian in a major role is about as rare as a honest politician. Yet, this year’s ambitious theatrical performance by JJ Classics Production of SANKARA has done just that. A sociology sophomore by academic discipline, the spotlight has fallen on Osaremeh Ijebor as a frontline actor playing the requisite role of Mariam Sankara, wife of the revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso. Of the 13 actors that make up the mainstage and student show cast, Ijebor is the only non-thespian. As a cast in the student show, she will be shadowing mainstage actor, Temi Agoro.

Playing Mariam Sankara is no small undertaking. The widow of the late Thomas Sankara was herself “fiercely loyal and fearlessly intelligent,” as described by the playwright, Jude Idada. The play narrates the political intrigue, betrayal, and human cost of the 1987 coup that ended Sankara’s life, and Mariam certainly had her part to play. She was the keeper of Sankara’s ideals and his voice of reason; Mariam reminded Sankara that he was the hero of Africa just as he was her husband and the father to their two children. To portray her convincingly, the actor must possess the ability to convey manifold emotions, all without slipping into caricature; to draw the audience in, without clamoring for attention.

What makes this casting particularly newsworthy is the fact that in the ATAS ecosystem, typically, major roles in their compulsory coursework, class productions, and even externally staged plays are allocated to theatre students. This has almost become a sacred tradition at the department, with the excuse that it helps the major students hone the craft and have proof of it. The lecturers can also better ameliorate their budding proficiency that way. Some of their external engagements are even sometimes graded, especially in their third year, where each student is expected to be a participant of up to ten staged plays. These opportunities for constant practice are continuous training pipelines that immerse them in the discipline.

However rare though, the Theatre Arts stage has, on occasion, welcomed talents from beyond its own walls as major characters. One such is Toluwaleke Owonifaari, who is even now serving as this production’s manager. He has served as a member of cast and/or crew about 90 performances and counting, including Jogbo Tuntun, First Bank’s Oke Langbodo, Twingle Twangle, to name a few. Very recently, he directed Lawliwood’s Aluta. Another is Abbah Boniface, a student of Communication and Language Arts, who played lead roles in two consecutive class productions. Ijebor will now join the bandwagon of non-thespians who lead role in theatre productions in UI.

On these rare occasions when an “outsider” is brought in, it is usually a decision steeped in deliberation. Such casting is not charity. When a non-theatre student manages to break through this closed circle, this person is extraordinary. It is seldom a fluke. That Ijebor has found herself here says much about whatever impressions she has already made. This is not a role she stumbled into. Rather, it shows that she is ready and able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the craft and the thespians-in-training, and as well willing to undergo the same rigor expected of them.

Her shadow counterpart, Temi Agoro, is a learned thespian and ancestor who possesses mastery of poise and diction. Ijebor’s presence on stage will inevitably invite comparisons with Temi Agoro. While Agoro has the formal thespian training to boost her performance, Ijebor’s approach to the role may be done simply with outsider instincts and adaptability. Any person who sees both shows will watch closely to see which portrayal of Mariam Sankara is more raw, more real, more polished. A comparison against such a performer for Ijebor, and in real-time on the same production run, might prove daunting, because expectations for the production itself are intense. It sets a high bar for her to rise to.

The producer, Asagba ‘Jyro’ Ejirooghene, and the directing team: Alao ‘Taiyoung’ Toyibb and Anthony “The Scribe” Tubokeyi, made the casting decisions. They hinted that the casting was not a gamble, but deliberate choices, so the student show is not to be seen as a watered-down version of the main stage show. Instead, it is a parallel fixture, with talent scouted and recognized beyond usual criteria.

This fact does not dismiss that the role will test Ijebor in multiple dimensions. She would have to master the French-accented English of Mariam Sankara and deliver accurate emotional dexterity that switches between the public grief and private pain Mariam Sankara experienced. Beyond her performance, there’s also the audience factor. Many will come curious, even skeptical, about whether a Sociology major can hold a role so steeped in political and historical parlance.

Yet, perhaps it is fitting that a student of Sociology should portray Mariam Sankara. After all, the discipline trains the mind to see power structures, social change, and human actions in context. Mariam Sankara’s life is itself a case study in how individuals intersect with national histories.

In the end, whether the student show audience leaves the theatre moved or merely entertained will hinge on how well Ijebor channels the emotions of Mariam Sankara as she caught up with loss. Osaremeh Ijebor may have just stepped onto an uncharted road with this role. Perhaps, like Mariam Sankara, she may yet prove that courage can command any stage or not.