Based in the 1660's of London's theatres, this film is about the rules of gender roles in theatre production, and means to change them for everyone's benefit. Ned Kynaston is the homosexual cross-dressing actor who has been playing female parts in plays for years, particularly Desdemona in Othello, he also has a close relationship with a male co-actor. One day however, the rules of only men playing women could change when aspiring actress Maria auditions as Kynaston's praised role, Desdemona, and soon enough, King Charles II decides to make the law that all female roles should be played only by women. Maria becomes a star, while Ned finds himself out of work. But after a while, Ned finds it in his nature to forgive Maria's aspiration, they may even fall in love, and Charles may proclaim women will be played by either gender.

Although the movie starts out portraying the traditional Elizabethan style of acting on the stage (ie, stylized non-realistic acting), by the end of the movie, sequences on the stage are being performed in the style of realism (ie, what most people think of as modern acting), which was a style of acting not introduced until the 20th century.

Ned Kynaston:
A woman playing a woman? Where's the trick in that?

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Pepys is telling Kynaston to play a man's role, Kynaston's lips are out of sync with his speech in some shots.