Drink and drug-fuelled arguments and throwing televisions out of hotel windows – TEETH ‘N’ SMILES delivers the essence of Rock and Roll perfectly.
First staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1975, starring Helen Mirren in the role of Maggie Frisby, David Hare‘s play (with music) TEETH ‘N’ SMILES is now back in London, playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Inspired by a story of The Rolling Stones, who were made to play a university gig at the height of their fame (because their manager had agreed to it before they rose to stardom), TEETH ‘N’ SMILES explores the death of a band in a time when so many of their peers were dying (Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 and Jim Morrison from The Doors died in 1971 – they were all just twenty-seven years old).
Late for the first of three performances at Jesus College, Cambridge, Maggie Frisby is carried, unconscious, through the audience and on to the stage. The once successful band, now reduced to playing in university halls, use drink and drugs to get them through the boredom and conflicts that come along with spending all day, every day, with people they once liked but now despise.
The drummer and keyboard player spend their time sharing useless facts, whilst the bass player Peyote injects himself with just enough heroin to get him through the gig. Maggie’s ex boyfriend and songwriter (now in a relationship with the band’s press agent) is aloof and Maggie is on the verge of being sacked from the band.
As the night goes on, things fall even more apart, and the band are faced with the fear of what happens next. As Maggie famously says in the play, “singing is easy, it’s the bits in between I can’t do”.
Ivor Novello Award-winning singer/songwriter Rebecca Lucy Taylor (also known by her stage name Self Esteem) plays Maggie, the band’s lead singer, beautifully portrayed. Drawing from her own personal experiences of being in bands, it appears to be some kind of catharsis for her and whilst I wasn’t aware of her recording career before seeing this show, I certainly am now.
Whilst Maggie is at the forefront of the story, this is an ensemble piece, with the whole cast on and off stage throughout the show. Michael Fox (Arthur), Phil Daniels (Sarrafian), Bill Caple (Nash), Michael Abubakar (Wilson), Samuel Jordan (Smegs), Jojo Macari (Peyote), Noah Weatherby (Inch), Joseph Evans (Randolph), Aysha Kala (Laura), Christopher Patrick Nolan (Snead) and Roman Asde as Anson.
Wonderfully directed by Daniel Raggett and with music by Nick Bicât and lyrics by Tony Bicât (with new additional music and lyrics by Rebecca Lucy Taylor), TEETH ‘N’ SMILES was a nostalgic reminder of being a teenager in the 90’s and going to see local bands play gigs in dive bars. I could almost smell the stale beer soaked into the carpets.
While it is understandable that people have made comparisons to the recent West End production of smash-hit, Tony Award-winning Stereophonic (exploring the tumultuous relationship of a 70’s rock band trying to write an album, inspired by Fleetwood Mac), TEETH ‘N’ SMILES is much more raw and rough around the edges. But it’s real. Rock and Roll isn’t clean and polite, it’s drink and drug-fuelled arguments and throwing televisions out of hotel windows.
★★★★
Reviewed by West End Wilma
Photos by Helen Murray
TEETH ‘N’ SMILES is playing at Duke of York’s Theatre until 6 June 2026.
