Review by Marina Funcasta
Biopics being all the rage, MILES. is an unsurprising addition to the Fringe programme. Concerning itself with the man behind the music, Oliver Kaderbhai’s script exposes this legend for all shades of his, very fallible, character. Embodied brilliantly by twenty-one-year-old Benjamin Akintuyosi, it is hard to leave the show with any doubt as to the inner disorder his private life, among friends, family, and himself.
Explored and held to account by arbiter Jay Phelps, Kaderbhai’s script follows Phelps as he seeks inspiration from the tapes of Davis’ 1959 single Kind of Blue. Phelps, seeming more comfortable speaking through the trumpet than without it, holds his space considerably well. Following a similar architecture to Graham’s Make it Happen, the ghost of Davis appears to Phelps as a guiding light, instilling abstract wisdom through the form of raspy anachronisms and cigarette smoke. I must say, Akintuyosi’s characterisation is faultless, his first steps on stage achieving almost stifling impacts on the audience. His metamorphosis is astounding, and displaying a technique well beyond his years, his performance attests to the power of combining raw talent with classical training.
What distinguishes this play to Graham’s production on the 2008 financial crisis, however, resides mainly on the way Kaderbhai’s script deals with its subject. Smith in Graham’s production is comic relief: Davis is instead the myth Phelps must grapple with. His ghost parallels the heavy weight of history, felt pertinently by creatives lost in the increasing insincere industry. Beyond being a morality tale as to the dangers of addiction and losing sight of why one begins to create in the first place, Miles. Is a testament to the humanity which underpins our modern day heroes. Brilliant, no doubt, but the spotlight is a dangerously distancing space.
This said, Phelps hold this two-hander with such camaraderie that MILES., as cautionary and moral as the story of his life seems to read, ultimately becomes greater than just being about him. It is about history, pain, and the legacies of those who came before and are still yet to come.
Brilliant Camraderie
MILES. runs at Summerhall – Tech Cube 0
Running time: Sixty minutes without interval
Photo credit: Colin J Smith
Review by Marina Funcasta (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Marina is halfway through an English literature degree at Edinburgh University, wherein she has been (considerably) involved in the drama scene: enjoying performing with their Shakespeare Company shows, but also modern takes on Arthur Miller. However, Marina’s interests are wide-ranging under the theatre genre – enjoying abstract, more contemporary takes on shows (with a keen interest in Summerhall)
