New Lily Savage play to embark on tour, with initial casting revealed

A new comedy, inspired by the life of the late Paul O’Grady and the creation of his drag persona Lily Savage, will embark on a nationwide tour next year.

Savage, written by Jonathan Harvey (Beautiful Thing) with O’Grady’s blessing, will be directed by Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster (Kinky Boots) and will debut at Curve in Leicester next February.

The piece will follow O’Grady from humble beginnings on the streets of Merseyside to London’s club scene, where Lily Savage was born as a “fearless, foul-mouthed alter ego who would defy convention and win the hearts of millions”.

Danny Beard, who rose to fame as a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016, the winner of the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2022 and the runner-up of Celebrity Big Brother in 2025, has been cast as O’Grady. Beard’s stage credits include Wolverhampton Grand’s 2025 pantomime Sleeping Beauty, Straight Expectations at the Edinburgh Fringe and the UK tour of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief Musical.

Further casting and creative team members will be announced at a later date.

During the initial development phase of Savage, before his passing, O’Grady commented: “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.”

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.”

Foster and Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford added: “Paul was a generational talent, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to work on this hilarious, heartfelt and electrifying new play by the mighty Jonathan Harvey, which celebrates Paul’s life, legacy and Lily.

“Jonathan is one of our finest writers and, alongside Paul’s husband André, manager Joan and our co-producers, we are indebted to them all for trusting us to tell this story.”

Co-produced by ROYO, Curve, Hope Mill Theatre and Eilene Davidson., Savage will make its world premiere on 13 February 2027 at Curve Leicester (running until 6 March) before heading to Liverpool Playhouse (16 to 20 March), the Lowry in Salford (23 to 27 March), Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre (30 March to 3 April), Theatre Royal Bath (6 to 10 April), Norwich Theatre Royal (13 to 17 April), and Birmingham Hippodrome (20 to 24 April), prior to London’s West End.