Laura Henderson (6 December 1863 – 29 November 1944) born Laura Forster, rose to prominence in the 1930s when, as a wealthy and eccentric widow, she founded the

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude '' tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians o ...

in London's

Great Windmill Street Great Windmill Street is a thoroughfare running north–south in Soho, London, crossed by Shaftesbury Avenue. The street has had a long association with music and entertainment, most notably the Windmill Theatre, and is now home to the Ripley ...

, in partnership with

Vivian van Damm Vivian Van Damm (28 June 1889 – 14 December 1960) was a prominent British theatre impresario from 1932 until 1960, managing the Windmill Theatre in London's Great Windmill Street. The theatre was famed for its pioneering ''tableaux vivants'' o ...

. With Henderson as owner and van Damm as manager, they turned the theatre into a British institution, famed for its pioneering

tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; plural: ), French for "living picture", is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrica ...

of motionless female nudity, and for having "never closed" during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

Biography

Laura Henderson was the well-travelled socialite wife of a jute merchant, Robert Henderson. The couple lost their only son, Alec Henderson, in 1915, in France, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Her husband died in 1919, leaving her a wealthy widow. In 1931, she bought the Palais de Luxe cinema building and hired architect Howard Jones to restyle the interior to create a tiny, one-tier theatre, renamed the Windmill. The

opened on 22 June 1931 as a playhouse, but it was not profitable and soon returned to showing films. Henderson then hired

Vivian Van Damm Vivian Van Damm (28 June 1889 – 14 December 1960) was a prominent British theatre impresario from 1932 until 1960, managing the Windmill Theatre in London's Great Windmill Street. The theatre was famed for its pioneering ''tableaux vivants'' o ...

, and they produced ''Revudeville'', a programme of continuous variety with 18 entertainment acts. This also was a commercial failure, so they included nudity to emulate the

Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...

and the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

in Paris. The key element was Van Damm's exploitation of a legal loophole (or zone of tolerance) that nude statues could not be banned on moral grounds, and this led to the legendary "Windmill Girls" who appeared completely nude but stood completely still, so as to emulate nude statuary. The theatre stayed open during World War II despite demands from the government for her to shut it down.

Death

On her death in 1944, Laura Henderson bequeathed the Windmill to "My Dear Bop", Vivian Van Damm. In his 1952 autobiography, Van Damm described her as "a great strain on one's nerves, patience and tact".

Portrayal in media

Laura Henderson was portrayed by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

in the 2005 film ''

Mrs Henderson Presents ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' is a 2005 biographical musical film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Martin Sherman. It stars Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young (in his acting debut). It tells the true story of Laura He ...

'', for which Dench was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

. The film was later adapted into a stage musical.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Laura English theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers English socialites 1864 births 1944 deaths