'People are ready' for Jimmy Savile play, says Jonathan Maitland
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Version 0 of 1. Some people have recoiled, Jonathan Maitland admits, at the prospect of the first play to explore one of the most shocking figures of recent years – Jimmy Savile. But very quickly they ask “When is it on?” “It is one of the biggest stories of the last five years,” he said. “It has changed everything; it has changed the way we look at abuse, it has changed the way we prosecute it, it has changed attitudes towards it, the way we treat the survivors of it. “What person would not want to explore what kicked it off?” Maitland was speaking before the announcement of his play, An Audience with Jimmy Savile, which will star the impressionist and actor Alistair McGowan in the lead role. “There is a real public interest question,” said Maitland. “What everyone wants to know – how on earth did this happen?” Maitland, a regular reporter on ITV’s Tonight programme, has been a journalist for 30 years, but believes drama can in some cases be more effective in telling the true story than current affairs television. The play will draw on transcripts of interviews, witness statements and official reports but is not completely verbatim. “It is semi-reportage. Almost everything Savile says in the play he said in interviews or I’m satisfied he would have said it like that.” Maitland has also talked to victims and the lawyer representing many of them and everyone understood what he was doing and reacted positively, he said. “I was really heartened actually. I was nervous about how they would feel about it but once you explain it is going to be a serious piece of reportage theatre. We’re not making jokes here.” Nevertheless there will be some who think it is too soon or even exploitative but Maitland contends it is the opposite. “The victims were exploited by not being listened to and this play is giving them a voice.” An NHS report in February revealed how Savile was given a free rein to sexually abuse 60 people, including seriously ill eight-year-olds, over two decades at Stoke Mandeville hospital, where he had once been lauded for his charitable efforts. Shortly before the play opens at the Park theatre in north London, Dame Janet Smith’s inquiry into abuse at the BBC, where Savile was a Radio 1 DJ, host of Jim’ll Fix It and a regular on Top of the Pops, is due to report its findings. Maitland said he would tweak the play if necessary but feels the time is right to explore the story. “There are two sides to Savile and whether you like it or not the unpalatable truth is he got to do what he did because, back then, he was entertaining and funny. He groomed the nation.” Savile got away with it because victims were not listened to and because, Maitland said, of his “extraordinarily manipulative and high-wire intimidation of institutions such as the press and the police”. An Audience with Jimmy Savile is Maitland’s second play. His first, Dead Sheep, which dramatises one of the greatest ever political speeches – Geoffrey Howe’s Thatcher speech – is on at the Park theatre at the moment. Related: Dead Sheep review – entertaining bellwether politics Having McGowan as Savile was a real coup, Maitland said. McGowan is best known for his comedy impressions but he has an impressive stage-acting CV. “To have someone who is a fine actor but can also do the entertaining bit is great,” said Maitland. “But obviously the play is very much about the dark, nasty side. Alistair is terrific at that.” Ironically, Savile used to be the staple of just about every comedy impressionist in the UK. For obvious reasons he’s not now. “Yes it will be strange to see someone doing him for the first time, but I think people are ready,” said Maitland. • An Audience with Jimmy Savile is at Park theatre, north London, 10 June-11 July. |