Teeth 'n' Smiles Review: Self Esteem Burns Bright in Thrilling West End Revival

Fifty years after its original premiere, David Hare's Teeth 'n' Smiles arrives at the Duke of York's Theatre feeling less like a revival and more like a rediscovery. The play, which runs until 6 June 2026 with tickets from £30, follows a struggling rock band hired to play a 1970s Cambridge college May Ball, and uses that setting to explore ambition, identity, class, and the particular tragedy of talent that insists on destroying itself.

Self Esteem Commands the Stage

The casting of Self Esteem as Maggie, the band's volatile and magnetic frontwoman, is the kind of decision that looks obvious in hindsight but must have taken genuine nerve. She is not a conventional theatre actor, and that is precisely the point. Her Maggie has the unpredictable energy of someone who exists on a stage rather than merely performing on one. She is funny, frightening, tender, and reckless, sometimes within the same speech.

Critics have been near-unanimous in their praise. Reviewers have described her as a blazing presence who illuminates the stage, delivering a formidable portrayal of a talent in free fall. What makes the performance so compelling is the way Self Esteem finds the intelligence beneath Maggie's chaos. This is not a character who destroys herself out of ignorance. She sees clearly where she is heading and cannot or will not stop.

Self Esteem also contributes an original composition for the production, a song described as expressing nihilistic heartbreak that fits seamlessly into the texture of the evening. It is a reminder that the boundary between rock performance and theatrical performance is thinner than either tradition usually admits.

Phil Daniels Is Mesmerising

Phil Daniels delivers a mesmerising turn as Saraffian, the band's long-suffering manager. Where Maggie is volatile and unpredictable, Saraffian is resigned and watchful, a man who has seen enough self-destruction to know how the story ends but who keeps showing up anyway. Daniels brings decades of stage and screen experience to the role, and his quieter scenes provide essential counterweight to the production's more explosive moments.

Hare's Script Holds Up

The question with any 50-year-old play is whether the writing still connects, and Hare's script answers emphatically. The May Ball setting gives the evening a built-in countdown structure, with the band's set approaching as personal and professional tensions escalate. The dialogue is sharp, the class dynamics feel uncomfortably relevant, and the central tension between creative ambition and self-sabotage is timeless.

What the play captures better than almost anything else in Hare's catalogue is the specific atmosphere of live music: the boredom of soundchecks, the electricity of performance, the bleakness of the aftermath. The Duke of York's Theatre becomes a convincing venue within a venue, and the production's energy is infectious and often sensational.

Should You Book?

At £30 for the cheapest tickets, this is one of the best value evenings in the West End right now. The combination of Self Esteem's star power, Daniels's veteran craft, and Hare's writing makes for a thrilling, touching, and funny night that works whether or not you know the original. If you have any interest in live music, British theatre, or the messy intersection of the two, Teeth 'n' Smiles is well worth your time.

The production runs at the Duke of York's Theatre until 6 June 2026. For more currently playing, browse all plays or see our full list of West End shows.