Rebecca Lucy Taylor, known professionally as Self Esteem, will play the lead role of Maggie in a 50th anniversary revival of David Hare’s play Teeth ’n’ Smiles at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London. The production, directed by Daniel Raggett, opens in March and runs for 12 weeks, with tickets going on sale in October.
The role of Maggie, a singer in a disintegrating band performing at a Cambridge University May ball at the end of the 1960s, was originated by Helen Mirren in 1975. Taylor, who will contribute additional music and lyrics to original songs by Nick and Tony Bicât, described the opportunity as “deeply honoured” and said she “can’t wait to slap you round the face with Maggie”.
Taylor, who spent a decade in the indie duo Slow Club before releasing solo albums as Self Esteem, made her theatrical debut as Sally Bowles in Cabaret in 2023. Her book A Complicated Woman is due next month. Hare commented: “I can’t think of anything more exciting than watching Rebecca Lucy Taylor and Daniel Raggett strip the varnish off my old play.”
Teeth ’n’ Smiles was first staged at the Royal Court in 1975 before transferring to the West End. The Guardian’s Michael Billington wrote that Hare “captures precisely that moment in a culture when a dream explodes”. The revival follows another rock-band drama, Stereophonic, currently playing at the same theatre.
