Mrs. Henderson Presents

Laura Henderson, a recently widowed socialite with money to spare, buys the Windmill Theatre in Soho as a personal project. She teams with the bold impresario Vivian Van Damm to launch a continuous variety revue that runs from dawn till midnight and draws curious crowds. The idea feels modern and exhilarating, a bold alternative to conventional theatre. But costs rise and returns wobble, threatening the venture's future. Laura pushes for boundary pushing, adding risque burlesque acts inspired by Paris's Moulin Rouge in the hope of keeping the lights on. What starts as a financial gamble becomes a test of taste, ambition and the costs of artistic risk, shaping the theatre's evolving culture, overall reflective.

Directed by Stephen Frears, the film adapts a story by Kathy Rose and David Rose with a screenplay by Martin Sherman. Released in 2005, it stars Judi Dench as Laura Henderson and Bob Hoskins as Vivian Van Damm, with flair.

With a production budget of 20 million, the film grossed 27,876,417 worldwide, a modest but solid return for a period comedy drama led by a familiar cast. Its reception helped underline Frears's ability to consistently balance humor with social insight.

Critical responses praised Dench's performance and Frears's blend of humor and heart. The film probes themes of female leadership, entrepreneurship, aging, and the friction between censorship and creative expression, showing how art can influence social norms without sacrificing accessibility that resonates with contemporary debates about censorship and artistic freedom.

The Windmill Theatre itself stands as a touchstone in British theatre history for its long running continuous show and provocative tableau acts. The film nods to that era's rebellious energy and has fed discussions about censorship, performance, and London's evolving cultural landscape and theatre histories today and to future generations.