LEICESTER — The play "Savage," which portrays Paul O'Grady's evolution from a care worker to his drag persona Lily Savage, will premiere at Curve Theatre in Leicester in February. Following its Leicester run, the production has a planned engagement in London's West End.

Drag performer Danny Beard will portray O'Grady in the play. Playwright Jonathan Harvey collaborated on the script, which received approval and support from O'Grady's widower, Andre Portasio. Harvey paused work on the script for several months after O'Grady's death.

The play's narrative tracks O'Grady's performances during the AIDS crisis and his encounters with police during raids on gay venues. The script includes an incident where O'Grady was briefly arrested during a police raid after mistaking officers for strippers. It also portrays O'Grady visiting hospitals to share cigarettes with men dying of AIDS-related illnesses before effective treatments were developed.

Jonathan Harvey said that O'Grady reviewed an early draft of the play. "I sent Paul the first draft of the play just a few months before he died and he was really happy with it." He added that the dialogue in the play was based on O'Grady's writings. "There's hardly a line of dialogue in the play that isn't taken from one of Paul's autobiographies."

Danny Beard said that O'Grady had a broad appeal. "Paul was uniquely loved across all different age ranges and communities." O'Grady died at the age of 67. At the time of his death, he was preparing to record a new broadcast for Boom Radio.