From Balamory to The Lavender Hill Mob: Miles Jupp says it’s ‘good to be irrelevant’-Hugh Montgomery-Entertainment – Metro

Miles Jupp (left) and Justin Edwards (right) star in the play (Picture: Hugo Glendinning)

Much of the time, people are at pains to emphasise the ‘relevance’ of their shows today. So there is something refreshing in Miles Jupp’s insistence that the new play he’s starring in, a touring adaptation of 1950s Ealing film comedy The Lavender Hill Mob, is in fact totally irrelevant, in the very best sense.

‘None of it has any bearing on anything whatsoever on the world as it exists around us,’ he says, when I ask him about the material’s appeal. ‘I enjoy that sort of escapism. It’s a piece of fun.’

He continues: ‘People come up with all sorts of ludicrous reasons, as, “Why [are you doing this] now? Just stick a Shakespeare play in military fatigues and say, It’s never been more relevant.” I mean, it’s a nonsense.’

It’s a moment that encapsulates the actor and comedian’s own appeal, his slightly old-fashioned charm (he has often been referred to affectionately as a ‘young fogey’) set off by just a touch of acerbic bite. Now aged 43, Miles has found success in a variety of mediums, from stand-up comedy and theatre to radio (in his four-year stint presenting Radio 4’s The News Quiz) and TV, appearing in many of the nation’s favourite series from sitcoms (Rev, The Thick Of It) to period drama (The Durrells, The Crown) to the BBC’s current Sunday night offering SAS Rogue Heroes.

But while The Lavender Hill Mob may be a particularly entertaining project to work on, it has also tested him in new ways as a performer.

The film, after all, was a caper about a bank heist that switches from London to Paris to Rio de Janeiro and features giddy chase sequences – not the easiest thing to translate to the stage.

In this new version, Miles takes on the lead role of bank clerk and improbable criminal mastermind Henry Holland, played by Alec Guinness on screen, and he and his cast members are required to recreate the whole story using just a selection of props and their theatrical craft. ‘You need to be in a state of continual inventiveness in the rehearsal room,’ he says. ‘[It involves] a vast quantity of problem solving. How do eight people in one room tell a story involving this many people and this much action?’

Suffice to say, it’s quite a workout for everyone – something Miles is appreciating. ‘I was filming all summer and with on-set catering and room service and whatever, you’re not being terribly active so that thing of being in a theatre and having to get the heart rate up a bit is very good for you.’

Another challenge is following acting icon Alec Guinness in the role. ‘It is daunting in one sense but you also think this is an entirely different beast,’ Miles says.

Jupp and Edwards on the ‘Eiffel Tower’ (Picture: Hugo Glendinning)

‘You have to look at it as a new piece of writing and the audience aren’t necessarily people who have seen the films.’

Saying that, Miles admits that there may be some inevitable shades of Guinness in his performance. ‘There is a little bit of that because he has got such a distinctive voice. And I suppose you do think, “Well, actually, how will Holland talk?” and then in your head, you do just hear him.’

Coincidentally, this happens to be the second stage role in a row in which Miles has worn a bowler hat – the previous one being The Life I Lead, the bio-drama about British actor David Tomlinson, who played Mr Banks in Mary Poppins.

Indeed, Miles is no stranger to formal garb as a performer, having started out doing live stand-up in his early twenties while dressed in tweeds, exaggerating his poshness for comic effect. It was around the same time, when doing a divinity degree at Edinburgh University, that Miles, despite having no professional training or real experience, also landed his first major acting role, playing Archie the Inventor in hit CBeebies show Balamory – and a dual career beckoned.

Jupp has described performing in the play as a form of ‘escapism’ (Picture: Hugo Glendinning)

‘Suddenly I was in an environment where everyone else was proper actors,’ Miles recalls. ‘And I just really enjoyed their company and thought “this is fun”, particularly with the teamwork aspect of it, which is very different to [stand-up].’

Looking to the future, he’d love to do more TV drama – and, in particular, if any casting directors should be reading, he’d love to star as a TV detective or spy. ‘I am quite addicted to those smoky rooms with people in grey clothes discussing secrets that you don’t quite understand. I love all that stuff.’

But for the next four months, as The Lavender Hill Mob heads around the UK, he’s mostly content to give himself over to the life of the travelling player. ‘We’re in north Wales at the moment, in a really nice remote cottage. I lit a fire last night,’ he says excitedly. ‘I’m not about to complain.’

The Lavender Hill Mob is at Richmond Theatre, London, until Saturday and Theatre Royal Brighton from Monday until November 26, then touring until February 18, 2023, lavenderhillmobplay.co.uk

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More