Rebecca Lucy Taylor Shines in West End’s ‘Teeth ‘n’ Smiles’ Review

Rebecca Lucy Taylor delivers a commanding turn in David Hare’s Teeth ‘n’ Smiles. The production opened in the West End to strong notices and confirms her rock-stage credentials.

Lead performance

Taylor plays Maggie Frisby, the beleaguered front woman of The Skins. She brings both vulnerability and grit to the role.

Her Maggie staggers and fights across the stage. The performance is musical and emotionally raw. Taylor also contributes an additional song to the Bicât score.

Setting and story

Hare’s play is set at a Cambridge May Ball in 1969. The band were booked to play at Jesus College for £120.

The Skins arrive exhausted and disillusioned. Their manager, Saraffian, frames the group’s decline with caustic wit.

Characters and cast

• Phil Daniels plays Saraffian, the cynical manager.
• Michael Abubakar is Wilson, the big-talking guitarist.
• Jojo Macari appears as Peyote, the drug-affected bassist.
• Roman Asde plays a diffident medical student.
• Michael Fox appears as Arthur, Maggie’s ex-lover.
• Other ensemble members include Aysha Kala, Bill Caple, Joseph Evans and Samuel Jordan.

Production design and direction

Chloe Lamford’s set shifts between college architecture and shadowed interiors. The band slouches on sofas before mounting a moving truck for their set.

Daniel Raggett directs with a clear eye for music and movement. Matt Daw’s lighting supplies moments of near-portrait contrast.

Sound designers Ben and Max Ringham push the period songs into the present. Nic and Tony Bicât’s music underscores the play’s central tensions.

Themes and tone

The play explores the music industry’s disillusionment. Idealism collides with drugs, drink and tawdry touring.

Hare’s script mixes sharp humour with bitter observations. The production reads now as both satire and social history.

Subplots

There is a class-based encounter with the medical student. A complicated past with Arthur never fully resolves.

Saraffian’s wartime tales highlight generational shifts. The play charts changes from 1960s hope to the tougher decades ahead.

Filmogaz.com reviewed the staging and found a blend of wit, chaos and musical force. Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s work is central to that impact.