This page features text and images from the 32nd edition Windmill Revudeville programme

THE WINDMILL SAILS

The writing of WINDMILL SAILS for each production must be one of those jobs that becomes more difficult each time, so much so that Mr. Van Damm has thrown the sponge in and decided to entrust it for a few weeks to various members of his executive staff just to fill in any spare time we may have whilst running five shows a day. This time he has selected the undersigned as representing the front and back of the Theatre, hoping, of course, that each of us can rake up some interesting and possibly amusing incident that doesn't as a rule come before the public.

To start with, we have decided to drag Mr. Van Damm from the seclusion of his office chair and give him a little of the publicity that he is so keen on giving others, and has so generously given each of us in our turns. It must be very evident to all our regular patrons that Mr. Van Damm has only one hobby, and that is "running the Windmill Theatre" for Mrs. Henderson. He literally "lives Windmill," is always thinking of new ideas for the amusement and comfort of his patrons and his staff; he is not altogether alone in this, because he is always encouraging his staff to do the same thing, and can be approached at any time and will listen patiently to everything, whether a new idea or a complaint.

This time we have eudeavoured to break away from the usual front page photograph, and as you will see, have given Mr. Van Damm the centre - all to himself - but we have surrounded him with a few of the artistes whom he has helped along the road to success and who have contributed so much to the entertainment value of REVUDEVILLE.

The first spot of interesting news we have is that Erie Woodburn has signed a long term contract with Mrs. Henderson, so you will have the pleasure of hearing many more of his clever characterisations, and, needless to say, we are all jolly glad Erie is staying with us; he has made himself so popular with patrons and staff alike from his very first engagement.

Above - Click to see The Windmill Girls

The next spot of news is that Jill Ricarde has just joined our Revudebelles, but the circumstances under which she got the engagement are somewhat remarkable. Recently during one of our heat waves, Mr. Van Damm and a friend were motoring down to Windsor, and whilst driving along by the river at Runnymede, they were hailed by a girl who told them that her friend was in the river drowning. Before V. D. could get away from his wheel, his friend had nipped out of the car and was neck deep in the water, collared the drowning girl and brought her ashore little the worse for her ducking, but in spite of her bedraggled appearance, V. D. at once saw in her a possible showgirl; so when she had quite recovered, he invited her to visit the Windmill . . . . She is now another popular Revudebelle, and V. D. is learning to swim with an eye to the future, and we are told he is to be frequently found ambling along the upper reaches of the Thames in the cool of the evening!

The recent hot weather has been a most trying experience for everybody, but a word of praise must be given to all our artistes who have stuck to their jobs so well. Not a single one has been "off" through the heat - in fact they have always appeared as fresh in the fifth house as they were in the first - it is only real artistes who can disguise their discomforts. In this direction, a somewhat humorous episode took place a few evenings ago. Morgan Davies was feeling the heat pretty badly, and on his way to the stage, met the call boy with what looked like some water in a glass. Without waiting, Morgan scoffed the lot, only to find he had pinched somebody's gin! What with the heat and excitement, Morgan soon showed that he had had a drink - so much so that after the show he was found wearily wending his way downstairs into the basement, thinking all the time that he was going upstairs to his dressing room, which is at the top of the building .... he soon found his level.

Whilst you are reading this, Eve Bradfield, our untiring Producer, is taking a well-earned holiday. As she is to contribute to the Windmill Sails in the near future, we shouldn't be surprised to hear that lazing in a boat somewhere she is busily writing Oh, boy! -- what she could write -- and how !

Lastly, we have just discovered that Mr. Van Damm has a second hobby - this is his beautiful new Chrysler car. This is generally on view at the stage door between 4 and 6 o'clock, when the Stage Doorkeeper can be seen diligently putting a polish on it - there's no end to the capabilities of the Windmill Staff.

Yours sincerely,

K. H. BANDY, House Manager.

L. B. Lestoco, Stage Director.

Britain for the Britisher" is our Motto

 

ENTERTAINMENTS a la CARTE

A Tour of Variety

By ARKAY

At the little Windmill Theatre, not far away, they have realised this. The only dullish patch in an intimate entertainment, which is one of the best in London (and continuous) is when the company dress themselves up for a scene in Hell. Up to that moment they had relied on charming lighting-effects and achieved beauty. In the Hell scene they had set out to reach something ---"splendid"--- but only touch an effect of red muslin in strips. But this is only a minor detail in a little show which is infinitely wittier and prettier than many a more boosted West-end revue. If only you sit in this cosy little theatre, where, incidentally, the attendants are the kindest and most obliging 1 have ever encountered, to listen to John Tilley discoursing on women's politics, your stay will be a joyous memory. Nevertheless, every other item is first-rate. I liked Betty Norton and Billy Holland immensely. And to think that this jolly entertainment goes on all day from 2 o'clock onward, and that you can slip in and out as you wish, certain of being amused or charmed! No wonder the venture has been a success and looks as it it were going to live long after other non-stop shows have definitely stopped. I suppose it is all a question of not having a few Big Names and the rest of the programme fill-ups. This has ruined Variety.

The Tatler - From the back of programme 32

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