Teeth 'n' Smiles

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Teeth 'n' Smiles
Written by David Hare
Date premiered2 September 1975
Place premiered Royal Court Theatre, London

Teeth 'n' Smiles is a musical play written by David Hare.

Contents

Productions

Directed by the author, the play was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre on 2 September 1975. [1]

It was subsequently revived in the West End at Wyndhams Theatre in May 1976, then at Oxford Playhouse in October 1977, Nottingham Playhouse in August 1979 and Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in November 2002.

The play is set to be revived at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in 2026, with Rebecca Lucy Taylor in the role of Maggie. [2]

Cast Lists

CharacterOff-West End [3] West End [4] Oxford [5] Nottingham [6] Sheffield
19751976197719792002
Arthur Jack Shepherd Martin Shaw Frank Grimes Robert LloydScott Handy
Inch Karl Howman Peter AttardTom BowlesNicolas Tennant
Laura Cherie Lunghi Gay Hamilton Belinda Lang Gillian Cally Lucy Briers
NashRene AugustusCharlie GrimaStephen PriceDon Hawkins Justin Pickett
Wilson Mick Ford Kevin Elyot Ron Emslie Zubin Varla
SneadRoger Hume Roland MacLeod Noel CollinsKeith TaylorRobert Calvert
Peyote Hugh Fraser David Cardy Chris Jagger Keith-Lee Castle
SmegsAndrew DicksonLarry WhitehurstMervyn StutterLance Burman
Anson Antony Sher Peter Whitman David Bamber Dominic Charles-Rouse
Maggie Helen Mirren Cheryl Kennedy Linda Marlowe Amanda Donohoe
Saraffian Dave King Patrick O'Connell Maurice Kaufmann Ivan Kaye
Randolph Heinz Tom Wilkinson Anthony Head William Maidwell

In a 1979 production in the USA, Maggie was played by Ellen Greene.

Plot

The play is set around the performances of a failing rock band fronted by lead singer Maggie Frisby at the May Ball on the night of 9 June 1969 at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Music

The songs in the play were written by Nick Bicât (music) and Tony Bicât (lyrics) and were -

[7]

Trivia

During the initial run at the Royal Court, Keith Moon turned up drunk at the stage door, joined Helen Mirren in her dressing room and told her how great the show was, and then tried to join the cast on stage before being stopped by the management. [8]

Helen Mirren's interpretation of Maggie was based on Janis Joplin. She said of the role at the time: "I’m very like Maggie in many ways, only she’s much more ballsy and gutsy than me. I endorse most of what Maggie says, in fact in many ways it’s difficult to talk about her because I feel so close to her." [9]

References

  1. ↑ Teeth 'n' Smiles Faber and Faber 1976 ISBN   0 571 10995 0
  2. ↑ Wiegand, Chris (12 September 2025). "Self Esteem to star as raging rock star in revival of David Hare's Teeth 'n' Smiles". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Royal Court Theatre programme
  4. ↑ Wyndhams Theatre programme
  5. ↑ Oxford Playhouse programme
  6. ↑ The Stage, 16 August 1979, p.51.
  7. ↑ Teeth 'n' Smiles Faber and Faber 1976 ISBN   0 571 10995 0
  8. ↑ Mirren, Helen (2007). In The Frame. Orion Books. ISBN   978-0-7538-2434-4.
  9. ↑ Ward, Philip (2019). Becoming Helen Mirren. Troubador. ISBN   9781838597146.


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