The Story of Teeth 'n' Smiles
Set during one chaotic night in 1969, Teeth 'n' Smiles follows a washed-up rock band hired to play a Cambridge University May Ball. At the center is Maggie Frisby - once the roaring voice of 1960s counterculture, now broke, disillusioned, and fueled by booze and fury. As the band's youthful dreams of anarchic rebellion collapse into bitterness and recrimination, Maggie tears through the night with a voice that refuses to die, even as everything around her falls apart.
Maggie Frisby: Voice of a Generation
Maggie was supposed to be the real thing - authentic working-class rage channeled into rock'n'roll rebellion. But as the 1960s dream curdles into cynicism, she finds herself playing for wealthy students whose idea of revolution is a costume party. Maggie's fury at the commodification of counterculture, at her own complicity, and at the realization that nothing has really changed creates explosive tension that drives the play.
The Band's Last Stand
Around Maggie orbits a collection of damaged dreamers: musicians who believed they could change the world through rock'n'roll but instead find themselves playing the same tired gigs for diminishing returns. Each member represents a different response to disillusionment - some cling to hope, others embrace cynicism, all are trapped in the wreckage of their ideals.
The May Ball
The Cambridge May Ball becomes a pressure cooker where class tensions, artistic frustration, and personal demons collide. The privileged students who hired the band represent everything the counterculture claimed to oppose, yet here they all are - rebels performing for the establishment, revolution reduced to entertainment. The gulf between aspiration and reality has never been more evident or more painful.
Sex, Drugs, and Despair
Through one long night of music, confrontation, and chemical enhancement, the play explores what happens when the party's over but nobody knows how to leave. Hare's script balances dark humor with genuine pathos, capturing a specific cultural moment while asking universal questions about authenticity, sellout, and what it means to maintain integrity in a world that seems designed to crush it.
The 1970s Context & Legacy
1975: The Original Production
Teeth 'n' Smiles premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1975 with a young Helen Mirren as Maggie Frisby, delivering a performance partly inspired by Janis Joplin. The play arrived at a crucial moment - the optimism of the 1960s had curdled, punk was about to explode, and David Hare captured the transitional moment perfectly. The production was a sensation, cementing Hare's reputation as one of Britain's most important playwrights.
The Death of the 1960s Dream
By 1975, the counterculture revolution seemed to have failed. The Vietnam War dragged on, capitalism adapted and absorbed rebellion, and the idealistic energy of the previous decade had dissipated into disillusionment. Teeth 'n' Smiles captured this moment brilliantly, showing how revolutionary energy could be commodified, how authentic voices could be drowned out, and how the dream of changing the world through rock'n'roll had become just another career path.
Class and Counterculture
One of Hare's key insights was recognizing how British class dynamics complicated the counterculture. Maggie, from a working-class background, is acutely aware that many of her fellow revolutionaries are playing at rebellion - they can always return to comfortable middle-class lives. The May Ball setting crystallizes this tension: the band performs revolution for an audience that will graduate into positions of power and privilege.
Why It Still Matters
Fifty years later, Teeth 'n' Smiles remains startlingly relevant. The tension between artistic integrity and commercial success, the commodification of rebellion, the hollowness of performative radicalism, the frustration of watching ideals compromised - all these themes resonate powerfully with contemporary audiences. Rebecca Lucy Taylor's involvement brings additional layers, as she navigates similar tensions in today's music industry.
Practical Information
Show Times
- Monday - Saturday: 7:30pm
- Wednesday & Saturday: 2:30pm matinees
- Sunday: No performances
Getting There
- Underground: Leicester Square (2 mins walk), Charing Cross (5 mins walk)
- Train: Charing Cross Station (5 mins walk)
- Buses: Multiple routes to Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square
- Parking: Q-Park Chinatown, NCP Leicester Square
Theatre Information
- Historic West End theatre opened in 1892
- Capacity: 640 seats across 3 levels
- Intimate venue with excellent sightlines
- Wheelchair accessible seating available
- Bar and refreshments available
Running Dates
Teeth 'n' Smiles runs at the Duke of York's Theatre from 13 March 2026 to 6 June 2026. This is a strictly limited 12-week engagement - book early to experience this explosive revival.
Age Guidance
Recommended for ages 14+ due to strong language, adult themes including drug use and alcohol abuse, sexual content, and the intense emotional nature of the material. The play deals frankly with disillusionment, self-destruction, and the darker side of rock'n'roll culture. Mature teenagers and adults will appreciate the complexity and raw honesty of the storytelling.
