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Two great 40th Anniversary productions in 2012
"The Compleat Female Stage Beauty" relates a story of the 17th century when women are banned from the stage. In that environment Ned Kynaston's fluttering eyelids and pouting expressions make him famous for his female roles. However, his dresser Maria longs to perform and appears in plays in a local tavern. She's spotted by King Charles II who, in bed with another aspiring actress Nell Gwynn, is talked into banning men from female roles.
Ned's reduced to singing bawdy songs in drag in music halls, and Maria's career thrives.
But Maria needs Ned's coaching and he in turn learns to shake off his trade-mark feminism, so that all turns out well.