Stage Beauty

Stage Beauty is a 2004 BritishAmericanGerman romantic period drama directed by Richard Eyre. The screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher is based on his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17thcentury actor Edward Kynaston made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel Pepys.

Nell Gwynn Zoe Tapper, an aspiring actress and Charles IIs mistress, comes upon Kynaston ranting rabidly about women on stage and literally seduces Charles II into banning men from playing female roles. Kynaston, having gone through a long and strenuous training to play female roles finds himself without a guise by which to keep the attention of his lover, George Villiers Ben Chaplin, the Duke of Buckingham, as the latter never had intentions to lead a homosexual life and Kynaston has lost the acceptance of London society which started to circulate rumors about their association. He is reduced to performing bawdy songs in drag in music halls, while Marias career thrives, although her ability to emulate that of Kynaston falls short because, as she says, Kynaston never fights as a woman would do.Called upon for a royal performance, Maria panics and her friends implore Kynaston for coaching during which she coaches him to develop his ability to regain a theatrical career in male roles. He agrees with the proviso that he replace the company head Thomas Betterton in the role of the titular protagonist. Maria evolves as an acclaimed theatrical star. ........

Source: Wikipedia