INFORMAL: INTERVIEW WITH MILES ANTHONY DALEY

INFORMAL - AN INTERVIEW SERIES

MILES ANTHONY DALEY

Miles Anthony Daley is a musical theatre actor and vocalist who has appeared in major London West End productions, as well as UK and international tours.

He is known for roles in West End shows Thriller: Live, The Choir of Man, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, and for performing the role of George Treadwell in the first ever UK tour of The Drifters Girl.

He also recently reprised the role of Raymond in the Australian production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, and is now about to appear as Richard Holland and Prince in the world premiere of I'm Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical, which opened at the weekend at the Hackney Empire.

I chatted with Miles last week, a few days before the show opened.

There seems to be a lot of excitement and buzz around this show opening. I first asked Miles just to tell me a bit more about it: "It's the story of Chaka Khan's life. Her times, her struggles, and her triumphs. It really encapsulates her entire journey, and the things that make Chaka Khan such a strong, powerful, and vibrant woman today. You get a real understanding of where that fire came from."

"From little things like her being a fire sign, to her being metaphorically put through the fire, you get an understanding of this super amazing trailblazer of a woman."

I wondered if the show focused on one part of her life story, or essentially told a complete story: "It takes a large chunk of her life. Our director Racky Plews makes a joke in the rehearsal room about how this show is 50 years in 2 hours, so it spans a long time. But it shows exactly how she got to where she is today."

And Miles and the rest of the company recently got to meet Chaka Khan herself: "It was great to have that personal contact, so that we could get to know her and understand her. She gave us 10,000 things to think about, and just lit up the room. She's just incredible."

And for this production, Miles is dual-roling. After following Miles's career, I know this is something he has done previously: "We've been there before haven't we! I think almost everybody is dual-roling. Because the show spans so much of Chaka's life, it's the best way to facilitate that. I play Richard Holland, who was Chaka's second husband, and Prince, who is my idol and was also Chaka's best friend at one point in her life. I get to play two quite amazing characters which is nice."

And being such a fan of the man, does he get to perform a Prince song in the show?: "Yes I do. I don't get to sing a Prince song by myself, but he wrote a very famous song for Chaka which we get to perform as part of the show."

I asked Miles how he felt playing real people on stage, and how he approaches these roles as an actor: "A lot of it is rooted in research. Scouring the internet for as much information as you can get. Prince is a big inspiration for me anyway so I had a strong sense of what I would want to do with the character before I even saw the script, but although Richard Holland was such a prominent figure in Chaka's early life, there really isn't much about him on the internet. Being able to have access to people like Nia who knows Chaka and knows the family has been a big help. Chaka also said when she visited to reach out and ask if there was anything we needed or wanted to know."

It must be difficult with playing someone like Prince to not cross the line into a caricature: "It's interesting because people dress up as Prince for Halloween, and there's a perception that he's very flamboyant and a bit aloof, but when you really watch his interviews or understand the words I'm saying in this show, you start to understand that Prince had a very strong sense of what he believed in and what he wanted to fight for. He was steadfast in those beliefs and fought for them. The script is amazing because it's given me the room to be lighthearted and funny - because he was those things - but also to be the real, true version of Prince, and you get to see that part of him and his relationship with Chaka."

As I'm talking to Miles, his energy and passion is infectious: "I love this show. I really really love this show! It's a real shame that we haven't been able to open yet, because it is a beautiful show. I didn't know a lot about Chaka's life outside of the music, but getting to understand the story and getting to meet her, I'm very passionate about the show. The entire cast are very passionate about it, and it's one of the most talented casts I've been part of. There's so much I want to say, so much I want to tell you, but I don't want to spoil it before you see it."

A big news story surrounding this show was the unfortunate last minute temporary closure of the Peacock Theatre where it was due to perform. In fact, at the time of this interview, the show should have already been open for two weeks. I wondered how that had affected Miles: "I'm personally still quite sad about it. I was looking forward to a nice 6-week run of a world premiere show, and you don't get the opportunity to make a first impression twice. This was the show's real first impression, and I don't know exactly what happened so I can't really comment. I do know that the team behind I'm Every Woman has done everything within their power to make sure the show is able to still go ahead."

The show is now playing a shorter London run at the Hackney Empire, opening this weekend: "I'm born and raised in Hackney, so the Hackney Empire is my home theatre. We were doing our rehearsals there and I said to my fellow cast members that I wanted to do a show there one day, so in a weird way it means a lot to me."

"After I did The Drifters Girl I didn't want to do theatre anymore, and said I would only go back to theatre if I got to play Prince. So to be playing Prince, and to be playing Prince in the theatre that gave me my theatrical start, on a personal note is a big deal."

"The venue that a show is playing in really does affect it, and I think that the Hackney Empire is actually the perfect venue for this show to open in. In terms of the vibe and the feeling of the theatre itself, it houses the story really well. It is a shame, and it is frustrating that it happened, but we're all really excited to go for it at the weekend."

"Chaka Khan is a very spiritual person, and for us we think that maybe the show was never meant to open at the Peacock. If it was supposed to be there it would have been, so maybe there's a deeper reason behind it. The show hasn't changed at all, because we were teching at Hackney, but our belief in it probably has grown even more."

I know Miles doesn't want to give too much away about the show, but I did ask him what audiences can expect from I'm Every Woman: "If you're a fan of stories then you're gonna love it because Chaka's story is insane - in an amazing way. The creative team have done a great job of telling the story and directing the show, so the acting is amazing from start to finish. You get a great well-rounded view of Chaka."

"The dancing is incredible. Ebony Clarke has choreographed a great show, so if you're a fan of dance you'll love it. And of course, Chaka's music. I'm really excited for people to come and see Alexandra (Burke) doing the show. It's an amazing opportunity for her to redefine how people see her in the theatre world. Jordan (Frazier) is amazing too, and both of them have a love for Chaka Khan's music."

"You can expect an emotional rollercoaster, even from my character. There's no way the audience won't go through that, with whichever character they resonate with. It's a very emotional show."

With the recent closure of shows such as MJ and Tina, it feels like we haven't got a show like this at the moment in London: "I'm really excited that people are going to get to see this. I genuinely believe that there is space for this musical to play in the West End."

I have to say that I agree. These are the sort of shows that made me fall in love with theatre in the first place: "Well there's a reference point for who Chaka is. But nobody properly knows the legacy or the journey of the artist. That we're getting to tell a story that not a lot of people truly know is an exciting thing."

I'm Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical plays in London, before embarking a short tour to Coventry and Eastbourne.

For more information on the show and to book tickets

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Interview conducted by Neill Kovacic-Clarke for Pink Prince Theatre on 17/03/26

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