Mrs Henderson presents...

Ek het vanmiddag na 'Mrs Henderson presents...' gekyk. Die storie is gebaseer op ware gebeure voor en tydens WO II.

Dis ook die storie van die Windmill Theatre in die West End. The Windmill was die enigste teater wat dwarsdeur die oorlog oop gebly het. Dit was ook die eerste teater wat non-stop vertonings gehad het.

Hier is 'n stukkie van hulle geskiedenis.

The Windmill Theatre Opened on the 22nd of June 1931 with 'Inquest!' a play by Michael Barrington. The Theatre's capacity as a proper Theatre was 322.

This part of London has a rural history. A windmill stood here from the reign of Charles II until late in the eighteenth century. This gave its name to the footpath leading to the mill from Piccadilly at the top of the HayMarket over Windmill Fields. From here could be seen the towers of Westminster and its palace. Great Windmill Street now runs from Coventry Street (Piccadilly Circus) up to Brewer Street, crossing Shaftesbury Avenue. in 1910 a cinema, the Palais de Luxe, was opened at the corner of a block of buildings which included the Apollo and Lyric Theatres (see Nos. 5 and 21) at the point where Archer Street joins Great Windmill Street just off Shaftesbury Avenue. This cinema was one of the first of the little West End homes of the early films. With the rise of the large super-cinema, it descended the scale and its programmes consisted of foreign films and classics. The property came into the possession of Mrs Laura Henderson who, in association with Bernard Isaac and J. F. Watts Phillips (The Windmill Theatre Co, Ltd), converted it into a theatre. The general manager was Vivian Van Damm. The architect, Howard Jones, remodelled the exterior in the style of a traditional windmill and the interior was entirely reconstructed to become a one-tier theatre of miniature size.

THE PLAYS

The theatre opened on 22 June 1931 with a new play by Michael Barrington called Inquest!, with Mary Glynne, Hilda Trevelyan and Herbert Lomas in the cast. This was only a mild success and once again films were shown which included The Blue Angel and Sous les Toits de Paris. In December 1931 it was announced that a policy of nonstop variety would be tried. Mrs Henderson gave her manager Vivian Van Damm carte blanche to try and help the variety profession which had been hit by the coming of the 'talkies'.
On 3 February 1932 this innovation began and Revudeville was introduced, a programme of continuous non-stop variety of a nature then new to London. The idea originated in Paris and proved most popular, drawing crowded audiences. The performances ran from 2.30 p.m. until 11 p.m.

During the first years the project lost £20,000, but the tide turned and the theatre became an established part of the London scene.

The Windmill was the only theatre in London which never closed, except for the twelve compulsory days between 4 and 16 September 1939, throughout the blitz, the performers often sleeping night after night in the theatre during the worst of the attacks from the air.
The death of Mrs Henderson in 1944 was a great loss to the Windmill, but it was announced that the policy of the theatre was to remain unchanged under the direction of Van Damm. After his death in December 1960 the theatre was carried on by his daughter Sheila, who had become his partner. Many famous comedians of today made their first impact here and a roll of honour was fixed to the exterior of the theatre. The full history of the venture has been told in To-Night and Every Night by Vivian Van Damm (1954). The last edition of Revudeville was seen in 1964.

In October the theatre was sold to the Compton Cinema Group and it closed on 31 October 1964 and was reconstructed as a cinema and casino. In 1973 a campaign was started to revive 'The Old Windmill Days' and re-claim the theatre. Eventually, in February 1974, the theatre was bought by Paul Raymond, from Laurie Marsh, who transferred a 114 year lease to him.

Raymond announced his intention of making it a home for nude shows 'a la Revudeville but without the comic element'.