"A woman playing a woman. Where's the trick in that?" - Welcome to the 17th century stage, where Ned Kynaston's (Billy Crudup) performance of Desdemona in Shakespeare's OTHELLO brings the house down nightly. Ned is the "most beautiful on the London stage." That is, until the King renounces the royal edict that only men can play women on the stage. Enter Maria (Claire Danes), Ned's seemingly loyal dresser, who becomes an instant star, leaving Ned to suppress his ardent feminine traits and make a man of himself.
Synopsis: Set in 16th-century England, this drama tells the story of Ned Kynaston, a cross-dressing actor famous for his role as the beautiful but doomed Desdemona. When King Charles II lifts the ban on women performing on stage, a beautiful actress literally upstages Kynaston and the celebrated actor falls on hard times, and falls into a depression overnight.
Released:
Tue, 03/08/2005
Format Aspect Ratio:
16x9-Wide Screen
Resolution:
480x720 LowRez
Audio Format:
Dolby Digital
Actors:
Derek Hutchinson - Stage Manager
Actors:
Mark Letheren - Male Emilia / Dickie
Actors:
Claire Daines - Maria
Actors:
Billy Crudup - Ned Kynaston
Actors:
Tom Wilkinson - Betterton
Actors:
Ben Chaplin - George Villiars, Duke of Buckingham
Actors:
Hugh Bonneville - Samuel Pepys
Actors:
Jack Kempton - Call Boy
Actors:
Alice Eve - Miss Frayne
Actors:
Fenella Woolgar - Lady Meresvale
Actors:
David Westhead - Harry
Actors:
Nick Barber - Nick
Actors:
Stephen Marcus - Thomas Cockerell
Actors:
Richard Griffiths - Sir Charles Sedley
Actors:
Zo? Tapper - Nell Gwynn
Actors:
Rupert Everett - King Charles
Actors:
Edward Fox - Sir Edward Hyde
Actors:
Robin Dunn - Butler
Actors:
Isabella Calthorpe - Lady Jane Bellamy
Actors:
Andy Merchant - 1st Thug
Actors:
John Street - 2nd Thug
Actors:
John Tannen - 3rd Thug
Actors:
Tom Hollander - Sir Peter Lely
Actors:
Hermione Gulliford - Mrs. Barry
Actors:
Claire Higgins - Mistress Revels
Actors:
Madeleine Worrall - Female Emilia
