Laura Henderson (6 December 1863 – 29 November 1944) born Laura Forster, rose to prominence during 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 of t ...

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 Ripl ...

, 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'' ...

. Under the leadership of Henderson, as owner, and van Damm as manager, the theatre became a British institution, famed for its pioneering

tableaux vivants A (; often shortened to ; ; ) is a static scene (performing arts), scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or theatrical scenery, scenery, and may be s ...

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

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

.Windmill Theatre Owner Is Dead
" Kingston, Canada: ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'', 30 November 1944, p. 19 (subscription required). At the time of her death in 1944, newspapers described her as "the mother of non-stop variety in London."Mrs. Laura Henderson: Famous Stage Figure Dead
" Birmingham, England: ''Birmingham Gazette'', 30 November 1944, p. 3 (subscription required).Laura Henderson's death notice, in
In Brief
" London England: ''Daily Herald'', 30 November 1944, p. 3 (subscription required).Theatricals' "Fairy Godmother" Is Dead
" Newcastle upon Tyne, England: ''Newcastle Journal'', 30 November 1944, p. 1 (subscription required).

Biography

Laura Henderson was the well-travelled socialite wife of a

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

merchant, Robert Stewart Henderson, whom she had married in London on 26 April 1887. The couple lost their only son, Alec Henderson, in 1915, in France, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Her husband died in 1919 with an estate valued at £82,913 19s. 9d. (the equivalent of £3.6m in Dec 2024), 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'' ...

, and they produced ''Revudeville'', a programme of continuous variety with eighteen entertainment acts. This also was a commercial failure. Henderson reportedly lost £26,000 during the theatre's early operation. They then included nudity to their staging to emulate the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

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 Olympia (Par ...

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

Upon her death on 30 November 1944, 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".

In popular culture

Laura Henderson was portrayed by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

in the 2005 film ''

Mrs Henderson Presents ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' is a 2005 biographical musical comedy-drama 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 ...

'', 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 has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

. The film was later adapted into a stage

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

. In 2016, Henderson was portrayed by

Tracie Bennett Tracie Bennett (born 17 June 1961) is an English singer and stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in ''Coronation Street'' from 1982 to ...

in the stage adaptation of the film, which opened at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

.Wolf, Matt.
Tony Nominee Tracie Bennett on Ignoring Judi Dench, Obsessing Over NYC and Starring in London's Mrs. Henderson Presents
" New York, New York: Broadway.com & Theatre Direct International, 25 February 2016.

References

External links

* Rose, Charlie.
Mrs. Henderson Presents
(video of interview with Judi Dench who portrayed Laura Henderson in the film, "Mrs. Henderson Presents." New York, New York: Charlie Rose LLC, 6 December 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Laura English theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers English socialites 1863 births 1944 deaths