Find out what is being said about the 50th-anniversary revival of David Hare’s drama….
WhatsOnStage: **** “It’s brought to vivid life here by a new generation of creators, not only Taylor, but also by the care of director Daniel Raggett, lighting designer Matt Daw (who offers a moment of Queen-like chiaroscuro) and by a sound design by Ben and Max Ringham that sends its songs piercingly into the present.”
The Guardian: *** “The songs by Nick and Tony Bicât, with some new ones by Taylor, are energetic, infectious and often sensational, from the throbbing 60s sound of Close to Me to the elegiac Last Orders, about a drowning generation.”
All That Dazzles: *** “David Hare’s writing is still thrilling in itself, edgy and with a sense of danger. That rebellion that lies at the heart of Teeth ‘n’ Smiles is still at the forefront, though the weight of these themes fails to land with the same impact it would have done in the past. The question I found myself asking was whether that was due to time and the world moving on, or if it was down to the choices made for this production?”
Time Out: *** “Maybe there’s a world in which a really bold, really aggressive update to Teeth ‘N’ Smiles dragged it comprehensively into the twenty-first century, but it’s understandable that Hare didn’t want to attempt such a task. And so you’re left with Rebecca Lucy Taylor pouring her heart into the semi-broken body of a play that would never get commissioned today. Self Esteem fans wanting to see their icon give a big Self Esteem-ish performance will not be disappointed. But as a complete production, it just doesn’t work, and was probably never going to work.”
The Reviews Hub: *** “Perhaps the play should feature backstage shenanigans and dressing-room debauchery, and keep the would-be concert as purely noises off. Then we could pretend we’d witnessed Joplin fronting the New York Dolls, and life would be cool. Sad but cool.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “Taylor is markedly soft-spoken in the role, but she quietly pulls off Maggie’s whirligig of shrewdness, sultry mystery, and an unpredictability that manifests in acid putdowns of those in her orbit. Indeed, her uncanny ability to send the conversation pivoting in wild directions manages to wrongfoot everyone, from Roman Asde’s dorky student journalist Anson, who gets more than he bargained for from their interview, to Phil Daniels’ crooked, festering manager Saraffan, who couldn’t give a toss about his band’s welfare.”
London Theatre 1: *** “ialogues, or to be more precise, monologues, take the scenic route to uncertain destinations. The spoken dialogue could have done with some considerable trimming. Still, there are some intriguing insights into a chapter of modern British history delivered by an engaging and committed cast.”
The Standard: ** “Taylor declaims almost all her lines full throttle, but so does almost everyone except Arthur, Laura and the silky Sarkassian: perhaps the characters have gone deaf, like a band Arthur mentions. There are good lines here (shagging the student is like “pushing a marshmallow into a coin box”) but like the songs the dialogue is horribly self-conscious.”
Theatre & Tonic: *** “Sadly, the book is the ‘Achilles heel’ of this revival production. Hare writes with excellent understanding of the period, and is an interesting insight into the world, yet it doesn’t seem to strike a chord in the same way it managed 50 years ago. The script lacks depth, and struggles to dive below the surface.”
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