Life in a singing and dancing revue
Today sees the release of Stephen Frears' musical-drama, Mrs Henderson presents. It stars Judi Dench as Laura Henderson, who shocked high society 70 years ago by buying the Windhmill Theatre and launching nude reviews. The show was essentially a non-stop revue theatre inspired by the Folies Bergeres in Paris.
Five, and later six, shows a day featured singing, dancing, sketches and comics, but above all, it showcased the famous nudes, the girls who posed on a pedestal, as still as a statue, because it was illegal for them to move. “If it moves it’s rude” as the saying went.
The Windmill was also well known as a proving ground for young comics – a real baptism of fire for the likes of Peter Sellers, Benny Hill, Bruce Forsyth and Barry Cryer, all fighting to raise a laugh when the audience had really come to see the girls.So what was it really like to work as a female performer at The Windmill where posing nude was only part of a complex and highly professional singing and dancing revue?
And what was theatre manager Vivian van Damme, played in the film by Bob Hoskins really like? Judi Herman has been finding out and she started by calling on ex Windmill girl, June Picton, who worked their in the 1950’s, to look through her personal collection of Windmill memorabilia...
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