Teeth 'n' Smiles is a musical play written by David Hare.
The play was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre on 2 September 1975.[1]
It was subsequently revived at Wyndhams Theatre in May 1976 (directed by the playwright), at the Oxford Playhouse in October 1977 and at the Crucible Theatre in 2002.
| Character | width=140px | Description ! | Played by (1975) | Played by (1976) | Played by (1977) | Played by (2002) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur | songwriter | Frank Grimes | Scott Handy | |||
| Inch | roadie | Karl Howman | Peter Attard | Nicholas Tennant | ||
| Laura | p.r. | Lucy Briers | ||||
| Nash | drummer | Charlie Grima | Stephen Price | Justin Pickett | ||
| Wilson | keyboard | Mick Ford | Kevin Elyot | Zubin Varla | ||
| Snead | porter | Noel Collins | Robert Calvert | |||
| Peyote | bass guitar | Hugh Fraser | David Cardy | Keith-Lee Castle | ||
| Smegs | lead guitar | Andrew Dickson | Andrew Dickson | Larry Whitehurst | Lance Burman | |
| Anson | student | Peter Whitman | Dominic Charles-Rouse | |||
| Maggie | vocals | Amanda Donohoe | ||||
| Saraffian | manager | Dave King | Patrick O'Connell | Ivan Kaye | ||
| Randolph | star | William Maidwell | ||||
| Technician | technician | Ian Elliott / David Charkham | David Cross / Kit Thacker | Steve Morley |
In a 1979 production in the USA, Maggie was played by Ellen Greene.
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.
The songs in the play were written by Nick Bicât (music) and Tony Bicât (lyrics) and were -
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.[6]
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.”[7]