Bakari Odama to Star Alongside Mister Rain in JJ Classics Production’s New Play
By: Eniola Awolesi
It is not unusual for eyebrows to be raised when a sophomore lands a lead role in a mainstage production. But when JJ Classics Production revealed that Bakari Odama, a 200-level student of the department of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, would be stepping into the shoes of one of Africa’s most iconic revolutionaries, Captain Thomas Sankara, there seemed to be little or no skepticism from the production. Among members of the broader theatre community, however, the casting stirred curiosity.
SANKARA is a political drama faction written by an award-winning playwright, Jude Idada. The complexities of its writing and the ideologies speckled across its pages make it no small feat for even the most seasoned actors. The text is a challenging, idea-dense, and emotional play that probes into what happened in the final 100 hours of the Burkinabé leader’s life, how these events occurred, and what it meant for Burkina Faso afterwards. To cast a sophomore student that is still early in his academic and theatrical training, is to cast a vote of confidence in raw talent and promise. A vote that may be difficult to revert if all things turn out unequal.
The director of the production, Alao ‘Taiyoung’ Toyibb, worked together with the producer, Ejirooghene “Jyro” Asagba, and production manager, Toluwaleke Owonifaari, to make a careful selection of all the actors embodying each role. To have chosen Bakari Odama means that he didn’t just walk into this role. He must have earned it by showing that he understood and can carry the weight of the man, Sankara, and the parts of his story the world should see. It’s in extremely rare cases, if any, that nepotism antics work in the theatre, so the thought of him being chosen for probably being a NEPO baby can be ruled out.
In this unique staging of SANKARA, Bakari is to serve as the double cast for Babatunde ‘Mister Rain’ Ojobaro, the multi-hyphenate media and theatre icon also playing Sankara in the same run. While Mister Rain plays the lead role with the mainstage cast, Bakari Odama holds forte with the students’ show cast. Now, Mister Rain has proven experience that spans decades, numerous industries, accolades and even critics. For Bakari, however, his presence seems so much like a counterbalance. He is still young, fresh, and has an audacious hunger to rise to the moment. These attributes present both sides of a coin that make the casting decision seem both risky and visionary.
For Bakari, this production will be an opportunity as much as it will be a test. To play the same role as a veteran, for Bakari, would require more than memorising lines and their blockings, because it means he would have to hold his own beside someone who has lived and breathed this craft on national stages. It might even mean rising to the challenge of comparison, one that audiences will no doubt make, but one that he must ensure he uses as a source of motivation rather than pressure. The director, Taiyong, is certain that this is a defining role for Bakari and believes in his prowess, but he still has to prove it to everyone else, because when he gets on stage, it’s not him the audience expects to see. He has to make the audience believe and relive Thomas Sankara’s final hours.
Bakari is not entirely unknown in the departmental and campus theatre circuit. He has a solid reputation for presence, range, and a genuine interpretive ability that he has shown in numerous ensemble productions and classroom showcases. But this role as Thomas Sankara may be one of his first times leading a production of this scale. That, and the fact that Sankara is not an easy character to simply ‘act,’ will require much more effort from him. The man, Sankara, was a symbol, a system disruptor, a visionary. To play him is to understand his speeches and his silences; his convictions and his contradictions. Taiyoung believes Bakari has that capacity, however. He can observe and absorb intuitively, and that is the start of good acting.
Perhaps what makes this role for Bakari most mesmeric is what it could mean going forward. Should Bakari deliver, as the director and producer strongly believe he will, his performance could mark the beginning of a long and storied career. It would be a rare opportunity for him to have thrived under a spotlight this bright, this early. But with that also comes responsibility. He cannot coast. He cannot hide behind mere potential. He must stand, fully.
JJ Classics Production has never shied away from bold artistic decisions, and in Bakari Odama, they’ve made one that speaks volumes. One that tells us that sometimes, the future of African theatre doesn’t need to wait for seniority. It just needs the stage.And in September, Bakari will have that stage. He will be given a stage where revolution lives, where Thomas Sankara breathes again and it has to be through him. If all goes well, the audience will leave having witnessed the rise of an actor as revolutionary as Thomas Sankara himself was. If not… well, it’s better not to dwell on the aftermath.
