A new play inspired by the life of the late TV presenter Paul O’Grady, starring former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard, will visit Salford’s Lowry Theatre next March.
Savage, which takes its name from O’Grady’s drag alter ego Lily Savage, who Beard will star as and the play will be centred on, is written by Jonathan Harvey and will launch in February 2027 before embarking on a UK tour.
It will take centre stage at The Lowry Theatre for five days from Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 March.
Speaking during the development of Savage, before his death aged 67 in March 2023, O’Grady said of the play: “I’m delighted Jonathan has agreed to write the script, I really am as he’s perfect for this and he’s such a great writer.”
Before his death, O’Grady was involved in the creation of the play, which draws from his autobiographies to tell the story of how he developed the character of Lily.
The story follows O’Grady’s beginnings on Merseyside and on the London club scene, before he became well known across the country.
Harvey said: “I was so thrilled when Paul gave me the opportunity to turn his life story into a stage show.
“I first saw Lily in a scuzzy gay bar in West London in the late ’80s and laughed ’til I hurt, so it’s an honour indeed to bring his story and the colourful escapades of the blonde bombsite herself to life.
“This is one of those few shows that I’m involved in where I can go ‘you need to come. It’s really good’, because the zinging one-liners are all his.
“It’s so sad he’s not here to see it, but hopefully this will be a fitting testament to everything he achieved, and a cracking night out full of humour and heart.”
Beard, who has appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and Celebrity Big Brother, won series four of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2022.
After rising to fame as Lily, O’Grady went on to star in TV series such as ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs and The Paul O’Grady Show, as well as the BBC’s Blankety Blank gameshow, which he presented as his drag persona.
More information about the show is available here.
