★★★☆☆
After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, MILES, an “imagined portrait” of legendary jazz artist Miles Davis has transferred to Southwark Playhouse Borough.
MILES. is a two-hander that offers an ‘imagined portrait’ of the early life of jazz musician Miles Davis. Originally conceptualised by international Jazz Trumpet player Jay Phelps, and written and directed by Oliver Kaderbhai, the play centres around the creative struggles of modern-day jazz musician Jay (Jay Phelps), visiting the New York recording studios of Miles Davis (Benjamin Akintuyosi). Miles acts as a spiritual mentor for Jay, recounting the personal and creative breakthroughs in his life. These are explored through various flashbacks, with live trumpet playing by Phelps acting as a narrative and emotional throughline.
Stylistically, the play takes on a dreamlike tone, flitting between Miles’ various musical influences with the live music wonderfully punctuating moments of heightened expressionism. The lighting design (by Alex Lewer) is highly effective in sustaining this dreamlike atmosphere, and enhancing the clarity of the narrative as it switches between flashback and modern-day. Additionally, I found the various projections of historical Jazz and Blues musicians (by Colin J Smith) extremely useful in tying the fiction to reality, although it was a shame that these were somewhat obscured by the textured wooden set (by Ellie Wintour), which alongside a piano centrepiece and shining laminate floor resembled a dreamlike practice room.
Akintuyosi and Phelps both deliver truly virtuosic performances. Akintuyosi has the chameleonic ability of a shapeshifter, his performance flitting between the quiet status of older Miles, and the trials of his impulsive youth. Despite playing a man twice his age in modern-day scenes, Akintuyosi is entirely believable and fluently commands the stage. Every word he says is filled with gravitas. It feels like something we need to hear. I was surprised to read that this was his first professional performance, and I am excited to see what he does next.
While Phelps primarily portrays a fictionalised version of himself as Jay, in the flashbacks, he morphs into a range of influential Jazz musicians. While his theatrical chops aren’t quite as refined as Akintuyosi, occasionally seeming a tad overdramatic, his live music-making more than makes up for it. Phelps’s trumpet playing creates some magical moments within the play. He traverses a range of styles, masterfully mimicking jazz players of the past and experimenting with his own style. In the play’s final moments, he even introduces some modern instruments to show his musical process, melding DJ beats, singing and Jazz Trumpet. Audience members around me were toe-tapping along to the beat. Phelps conceptualised the piece out of a pure love of Mile Davis’ music, and the way he plays trumpet onstage is a true testament to this.
This love for music radiates throughout the piece. Alongside Phelps live playing, the characters routinely listen to audio of Davis and his contemporaries. I commend Kaderbhai’s decision to create moments where the audience and characters simply listen. He gives us space to absorb and enjoy it, and in an otherwise fast-paced narrative this space is much appreciated.
The script is also extremely informative about the process of creating blues music, discussing its collaborative nature and detailing how each part of a composition anchors it. In terms of narrative, I was unsure what to feel by the end of it all. MILES. was at once positioned as a morally ambiguous cautionary tale, and an admirable figure of talent and esteem. Jay’s music didn’t seem fundamentally changed by the experience, instead he learnt to embrace his own style. Kaderbhai succeeds in his attention to detail, crafting striking physical images and displaying a breadth of musical knowledge.
However, I found I was left not knowing how to feel at the end. More attention could have been paid to the emotional resolution of the piece, and how each character meaningfully changes the other.
Overall, MILES. is a lovingly crafted and striking production, with so much talent on display.
MILES. runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough until March 4.
Photo: Colin J Smith
JADAR 