Writer and Director: Oliver Kaderbhai
Concept: Jay Phelps
It seems that now any new plays set in the past must have a framing device in which the present day is a feature. In Just For One Day, about Live Aid, a young woman in today’s era learns about the concert, questioning its more dubious politics, even suggesting that it reeks of white saviour syndrome. The new Cable Street musical begins with an American going on tour to visit the sites of London’s working-class fight against fascism. Miles is no different: a young jazz trumpeter in 2026 seeks inspiration from legend Miles Davis.
The spectre whom 32-year-old Jay summons is an old, cynical and contradictory Davis, extolling the value of collaboration while, at the same time, proclaiming that he is the true genius behind his seminal album Kind of Blue. Over the course of the next 90 minutes, Davis relates moments from his life, all in scrappy non-chronological order, with his addiction to heroin at the heart of the play. However, more interesting than his battle with drugs – which, after all, is an overly familiar narrative in most musicians’ biopics and bioplays – is Davis’s revolutionary approach to jazz; his experiments with form and his influences from Africa. We meet a whole host of other famous musicians, from Dizzy Gillespie to John Coltrane, evoking New York of the 1950s and 60s, with a constant stream of dry ice capturing the smoky jazz clubs in Harlem.
The two actors give terrifically energetic performances. Benjamin Akintuyosi, looking every inch like Davis, is raspy and aggrieved as he gives the younger musician advice on how to refine his talents. Swirling between time periods and standing on the piano that dominates the stage, Akintuyosi is always compelling as the fiery mastermind.
Real-life trumpeter Jay Phelps plays the young prodigy as well as all the artists whom Davis conjures up from his memories. A pair of glasses here and a fancy scarf there are all the props Phelps needs to become these illustrious men who defined the jazz era. Phelps also plays the trumpet beautifully, and his version of ‘Round About Midnight is worth the ticket price alone.
Forming the back of the stage is Ellie Wintour’s set, windows and shutters perhaps suggesting Davis’s journey to Paris in 1949. However, it’s a shame that the ridged edges of the shutters make it difficult to clearly see the old photos and films of Davis’s collaborators that are projected onto the wall. The shiny circle on which the action takes place works a treat, though, with the reflections of the actors taking us back in time to smoke-filled bars full of life and music.
Of course, Oliver Kaderbhai’s play can’t examine every part of Davis’s life – his bad hip, his experiments with electric instruments and his foray into pop – but Miles gives us enough sense of the musician that we go home to stream all his, and Jay Phelps’, tracks.
Runs until 7 March 2026
