Stage Beauty
| Stage Beauty | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Richard Eyre |
| Produced by |
Robert De Niro Hardy Justice Jane Rosenthal |
| Screenplay by | Jeffrey Hatcher |
| Based on | "Compleat Female Stage Beauty" by Jeffrey Hatcher |
| Starring |
Billy Crudup Claire Danes Rupert Everett Zoe Tapper Tom Wilkinson |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Andrew Dunn |
| Edited by | Tariq Anwar |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
Momentum Pictures (UK) Lionsgate |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
109 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States Germany |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,153,070 |
Stage Beauty is a 2004 British-American-German 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 17th-century actor Edward Kynaston made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel Pepys.
Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is one of the leading actors of his day, particularly famous for his portrayal of female characters, predominately Desdemona in Othello. His loyal dresser, Maria (Claire Danes), aspires to perform in the legitimate theatre but is forbidden because of a law enacted by the Puritans prior to the restoration of the House of Stuart. Instead, she appears in productions at a local tavern under the pseudonym Margaret Hughes. Her activity aided by the novelty of a woman acting in public, which attracts the attention of Sir Charles Sedley (Richard Griffiths), who offers his patronage. Eventually she is presented to King Charles II (Rupert Everett).
Nell Gwynn (Zoe Tapper), an aspiring actress and Charles II's 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 Maria's career thrives, although her ability to emulate that of Kynaston falls short because, as she says, Kynaston never fights as a woman would do.
...
Wikipedia