Cast Set For LITTLE BROTHER at Jermyn Street Theatre

Jermyn Street Theatre has announced the casting for the world premiere of Timberlake Wertenbaker's stage adaptation of Amets Arzallus Antia and Ibrahima Balde's award-winning memoir Little Brother, which runs at the theatre from 15 May to 21 June.

Blair Gyabaah  (Jitney – The Old Vic, Sydney Isn't Shooting Yet - Theatre 503) takes the role of Ibrahima, Youness Bouzinab (The Wetsuitman - Arcola Theatre; What They Forgot To Tell Us (And Other Stories) - Old Elephant) plays Amets, Whitney Kehinde (Outlying Islands – Jermyn Street Theatre, If Destroyed Still True - The Hope Theatre) plays Fatimatu, Ivan Oyik (Blackbird Hour - Bush Theatre, By Their Fruits - Theatre503) plays  Alhassane and  Mo Sesay (The Enfield Haunting - Ambassadors Theatre, Coriolanus, Under The Black Flag - Shakespeare's Globe) takes the role of Mamadou with the company conjuring up the people who Ibrahima meets on his journey across West and North Africa.    

Stella Powell-Jones directs, with original music composed by celebrated Guinean singer and percussionist Falle Nioke.

In Guinea, West Africa, Ibrahima discovers that his little brother has secretly run away from school and is heading to Europe. Ibrahima drops everything to go after him, setting off on the migrant routes of the Sahara towards the Mediterranean. Risking his life countless times, Ibrahima encounters the best and worst of humanity along the perilous road.

Stella Powell-Jones says, “Little Brother tells a story we rarely get to hear from the inside. It's the human truth behind the headlines — not statistics or soundbites, but one person's real journey. Ibrahima's story is vast, but also simple: an ordinary person compelled by love to do something extraordinary. It's a hero's journey through the Sahara. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with Blair, Ivan, Mo, Youness, and Whitney. This remarkable company brings us into the heart of a journey we might think unimaginable — until we hear it from the inside.”

Since the book was published, Little Brother has achieved international recognition for its stark honesty, its contemporary global significance and its power to elicit empathy, winning the English PEN Translates Award          .

Joining the cast for the production are the creative team composed of Stella Powell-Jones as Director, Natalie Johnson as Set Designer, Maariyah Sharjil as Costume Designer, Jahmiko Marshall as Lighting Designer, Falle Nioke as Composer, Max Pappenheim as Sound Designer, Lati Saka as Movement Director, Abby Galvin as Casting Director, Aundrea Fudge as Dialect Coach, and Soria Hamidi as Trainee Assistant Director. This Traineeship is offered in partnership with Good Chance Theatre's Stage Door 10 programme for creatives from refugee backgrounds looking to build their career in the arts

Timberlake Wertenbaker grew up in the Basque country and lives in London. She is one of the UK's leading playwrights and her work is performed worldwide. Her awards include an Olivier Award and the New York Drama Critics Award for Our Country's Good and a Writers' Guild Award for Three Birds Alighting on a Field. 

Falle Nioke is a singer and percussionist from Guinea, now based in Margate, UK. Since arriving in the UK, Falle has worked with producers including Johan Hugo, Congo Natty, Sir Was, and Ghost Culture.  EPs Younkounkoun and Marasi have been lauded from the grassroots and BBC Radio 6 alike. Falle speaks and sings in 8 languages, including English, French, Susu, Fulani, Malinke and his mother tongue, Coniagui and plays a range of cultural African instruments to accompany his voice (Gongoma, Bolon, Cassi). Falle spent most of his      20s as part of a touring group of musicians that played across West Africa.