New play to celebrate the story of Lily Savage on Leicester stage
‘Bold and deeply moving; show made with the blessing of the late Paul O’Grady
A new comedy and drag extravaganza about the creator of Lily Savage will make its world premiere in Leicester in February.
Inspired by the life of Paul O'Grady, and created with his approval, the play is called Savage, and is billed as a “bold and deeply moving new play”. It draws on O’Grady’s extraordinary life and his autobiographies to tell the story behind the creation of Lily Savage.
The show follows O’Grady’s journey from the streets of Merseyside to the heart of London’s club scene, where, armed with little more than his wits and a wig, he began carving out a place for himself. From humble roots and an unassuming start emerged Lily Savage, his fearless, foul-mouthed alter ego who would defy convention and win the hearts of millions.
The play is written by the multi-award-winning Jonathan Harvey. He 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.”
Before O’Grady died, he said: “I’m delighted Jonathan (Harvey) has agreed to write the script, I really am, as he’s perfect for this and he’s such a great writer.”
Danny Beard will play Lily Savage, with the play directed by the Curve theatre’s artistic director Nikolai Foster, whose acclaimed previous productions include the West End production and UK tour of of Kinky Boots, the UK tour of Legally Blonde and The Sound of Music at the Curve.
Savage will run at the Curve from Saturday February to Saturday March 6. Visit www.curveonline.co.uk or call 0116 242 3595 to book.