Miles at Southwark Playhouse

After a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Miles pays tribute to the life and legacy of jazz legend Miles Davis on the centenary of his birthday. Written and directed by Oliver Kaderbhai and starring Benjamin Akintuyosi and jazz trumpet star Jay Phelps, the show is a fantastic two-hander.

The setting at the Southwark Playhouse Borough theatre is an intimate one, with a minimal set of just a piano, upon which Miles is laid across as the play begins. We are transported into New York’s Columbia Records, where musician Jay takes inspiration from Davis’s groundbreaking 1959 album Kind of Blue. The story spans several decades, and the actors take on a variety of roles, portraying Miles at different ages to explore the influences of his early and personal life, including racial prejudice and his battle with addiction.

While most of the play centres around dialogue between Miles and Jay’s characters, there is a creative use of archival footage and images throughout, projected onto the wall, and at certain points even onto Miles himself. Props are also imaginatively substituted for people, as Miles holds up a dress or a scarf when depicting his interactions with women, and the performance even becomes interactive, as he breaks the fourth wall and interacts with audience members. While the different parts are expertly played by the two stars, one occasionally finds oneself losing track of who was who, as the play swiftly darts between time periods and characters.

Described as a fusion of live jazz and theatre, Miles is a unique education in both the man and his music. It is an extremely physically demanding performance, and both Akintuyosi and Phelps play their parts with incredible energy, seamlessly switching from acting to singing, trumpet playing and even tap dancing.

Miles is an immersive and inventive portrait of a musical genius. With its combination of music, theatre and memorable star power, it is a feast for both the eyes and ears that certainly earned its standing ovation.