Wessex Grove and Gavin Kalin will present David Hare's play in a 50th anniversary performance scheduled for the West End early next year.
Artwork for Teeth 'n' Smiles.
Directed by Daniel Raggett, Teeth 'n' Smiles will play at the Duke of York's Theatre for 12 weeks only. It returns to the West End following its last revival in 2002 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. The play has music by Nick Bicât and lyrics by Tony Bicât, with new additional music and lyrics by Rebecca Lucy Taylor.
Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem, in her West End play debut. She returns to the stage following her hugely successful run in London's production of Cabaret.
Further cast, creative team and full dates are to be announced soon.
Set in the early 1970s, Teeth 'n' Smiles explores the chaos, disillusionment, and fading glamour of a rock band performing at a Cambridge University Ball. Fronted by Maggie Frisby, this play offers a lens into fame, identity, and decline.
David Hare said today "I can’t think of anything more exciting than watching Rebecca Lucy Taylor and Dan Raggett strip the varnish off my old play. It’s a perfect moment to see if a new generation responds to that 70s mix of hope, drugs, music, sex and despair.”
Daniel Raggett said today “I first read David’s play over a decade ago and it seared itself into my brain. I’ve wanted to direct it ever since and - thanks to vision of Wessex Grove - I feel so lucky to be working on this revival alongside David, Nick, Tony and the incomparable Rebecca Lucy Taylor, who brings the whole thing alive as Maggie. Like me, she responded to this fifty-year-old play as if it were written yesterday and there couldn’t be a better time for it to come roaring back into the West End. An extraordinary picture of a world, and a band, tearing itself apart at the seams - shot through with some really great songs - its spirit of rock n roll revolution/desperate howl of defiance feels just as pertinent now as it did in 1975.”
Teeth 'n' Smiles will begin its run at the Duke of York's Theatre from March 2026.
