Praise for 'authenticity' of Rotherham's latest West End star
She once failed to get into drama school – yet Rotherham's Rebecca Lucy Taylor is now commanding one of the most exhausting roles in British theatre, performing centre stage in 'Teeth ’n’ Smiles' in London’s West End.
The revival of David Hare’s seminal play opened at Duke of York’s Theatre this spring, marking 50 years since it first shook audiences in the 1970s.
The limited run is scheduled to continue into the early summer, bringing a new generation face-to-face with its raw depiction of youth, music and disillusionment.
Taylor, best known for her music as Self Esteem, plays Maggie Frisby, a volatile, hard-drinking frontwoman holding together a band that is falling apart over the course of a chaotic Cambridge May Ball performance.
The role was originally created by Helen Mirren and has long been associated with the spirit of Janis Joplin – a comparison that underlines its intensity and emotional volatility.
Early critical reaction has pointed to Taylor as inspired casting, with reviewers praising the authenticity she brings from her own years in the music industry.
The character’s anger, exhaustion and refusal to conform closely mirror the Anston woman's own experiences of touring, performance and the pressures placed on women in the public eye.
The play itself unfolds across a single night in 1969, capturing the collapse of the 1960s dream through a haze of drink, drugs and fraying relationships.
Labelled a “rebel play” on its original release, it broke new ground by fusing rock music with theatre and confronting audiences with an unvarnished portrait of counterculture at the point of burnout.
The production follows Taylor’s acclaimed West End turn as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, a role that drew widespread praise and firmly established her stage credentials.
While that performance leaned heavily on her musical strengths, Teeth ’n’ Smiles sees her step into a more abrasive and emotionally exposed role in a straight play – a transition that underlines her growing range as a performer.
Her journey to this point has been far from conventional.
Taylor has spoken openly about being rejected by drama schools earlier in her life, making her rise to leading a major West End production all the more striking.
It is a trajectory that echoes the defiance at the heart of Hare’s play itself.
She has also spoken of a personal connection to Maggie, explaining that she identifies with a character who “doesn’t want to live under a rock” – a line that resonates with her own career choices.
As Self Esteem, Taylor has built a reputation for bold, outspoken work that challenges expectations and confronts uncomfortable truths, both in her music and public persona.
That refusal to retreat or soften her voice aligns closely with Maggie’s worldview – a woman determined to keep performing, even as everything around her threatens to collapse.
Fifty years after its debut, Teeth ’n’ Smiles remains a bruising, confrontational piece of theatre.
And at its centre, a performer from Rotherham who once faced rejection is now delivering one of the West End’s most talked-about turns – proving that, like the character she plays, she has no intention of fading quietly.