A RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner is set to play Paul O’Grady in a new play, titled Savage, that will offer an “intimate portrait” of the Liverpudlian legend’s rise to fame.
Penned by former Coronation Street writer Jonathan Harvey, Savage will chart O’Grady’s rise from Merseyside to the heart of London’s club scene, where he first began making a name for himself with his famous alter-ego.
The play has been developed with the support of O’Grady’s widower, Andre Portasio, and Harvey managed to present an early draft of Savage to the TV star in the months before his death in March 2023.
The writer told the Guardian: “He was really happy with it. Why wouldn’t he be? There’s hardly a line of dialogue in the play that isn’t taken from one of Paul’s autobiographies.
“Paul really liked the sound of his own voice – his first autobiography is quite long and ends when he’s just turning 17. As a result, I had this embarrassment of riches to work with, which made writing an absolute joy.”
Drag Race UK season four winner Danny Beard will play O’Grady when the play premieres at Leicester’s Curve theatre next February.
Admitting that portraying O’Grady feels “terrifying”, Beard said: “Today, drag has become Americanised. It’s four minutes of lip-syncing, a polished look and a fantasy.
“But Lily Savage was the real deal: a singer, performer and comedian who could hold a room for an hour.”
A West End stint is already being planned for after the play’s initial three-week run.
O’Grady made his final TV appearance as the outrageous Lily Savage in 2005, but continued working right up until his death aged 67 in 2023.
The star – who died peacefully at his home in Kent, after a sudden cardiac arrhythmia linked to his underlying coronary heart disease – had finished a stint as Miss Hannigan in the UK-wide tour of Annie just a week before he passed away.
He was also planning to launch a new show on BOOM Radio, having ended an acclaimed 14-year run with the BBC a year prior.
As well as being one of the UK’s most treasured TV icons, O’Grady was a fierce advocate for animal welfare and a patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
His death sparked an outpouring of tributes from fellow famous faces and faces – and even royalty.
Queen Camilla, who was Queen Consort at the time, said in a post on the royals’ social media accounts: “Deeply saddened to hear of the death of Paul O’Grady, who worked closely with Her Majesty in support of [Battersea], providing lots of laughter and many waggy-tailed memories.”
