Stage Beauty plot
"She was the first of her kind. He was the last of his."
By the 1660s, Edward 'Ned' Kynaston is England's most celebrated actress. It is forbidden for women to perform on stage. Ned takes advantage of this by taking advantage of his beauty and because he can perfectly portray female roles. King Charles II is tired of seeing the same artists over and over in the same tragedies. Since no one takes his suggestions to spice up "Othello" with a few good jokes seriously, the king decides to make the royal plays more interesting by having real women play along. This is good news for the king's impudent mistress. This news hits Ned hard, of course. From one day to the next, he's a nobody until Maria, a rising star, decides to make Ned a man again.