A new play inspired by the life of Paul O'Grady, tracing his journey from a care worker to the iconic drag queen Lily Savage and ultimately a beloved national treasure, is set to premiere in February. Titled Savage, the production will debut at Curve Theatre in Leicester before moving to London's West End.
The play, developed with the support of O'Grady's widower, Andre Portasio, explores the early years of O'Grady's career. It charts his transformation from a performer in Vauxhall's gay pubs, sporting a towering blond beehive, to a television presenter known for heartwarming shows about rescue dogs alongside Queen Camilla. Danny Beard, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, will portray O'Grady, describing the role as both an honor and a daunting challenge.
Beard emphasized the significance of telling O'Grady's story, noting that he was uniquely loved across generations and communities. He also highlighted how the production offers a glimpse into a different era of drag, contrasting the polished, Americanized style of today with the raw talent of Lily Savage, who could captivate an audience for an hour with singing, comedy, and performance.
Playwright Jonathan Harvey, known for works like Beautiful Thing and Gimme Gimme Gimme, expressed his desire to introduce younger audiences to the foundations of modern drag. Savage delves into O'Grady's performances during the AIDS crisis, including his defiance against police raids on gay venues and his compassionate visits to dying men in hospitals, sharing cigarettes in solidarity before treatments were available.
Harvey shared a unique advantage: he had sent O'Grady the first draft of the play just months before his death, and O'Grady approved of it. Much of the dialogue is drawn from O'Grady's autobiographies, which Harvey described as a rich resource. After O'Grady's passing at age 67, Harvey set the play aside for a few months, later returning to it with a sense of honoring a dearly loved figure.
The play concludes with O'Grady retiring the character of Lily Savage in 2005, but as Harvey's script hints, this did not slow his rise. By his death, O'Grady was one of the UK's most recognizable broadcasters, working on various projects, including this very play and a new program for Boom Radio.
