Which well-known theatre had the slogan “we never closed” often joked to be “we never clothed”?

Throughout the worst of the bombing of London in World War II, the bombs did not cause the Windmill Theatre to shut its doors and it gloried in the slogan, “We never closed”. In 1932, the theatre located in Great Windmill Street, began to stage what was called a “Revudeville”. Singers, dancers, showgirls and other acts would perform continuously from 2.30pm until 11pm.

The Windmill management decided to adopt the entertainment model of the “Folies Bergères” and “Moulin Rouge” in Paris, and glamorous nude females – the “Windmill Girls” – were introduced on stage.

The Windmill Theatre’s answer to censorship was to present the nudes in motionless poses, as “living statues”. Authorities were persuaded that there was nothing obscene about it - who could be offended by a nude statue? The audiences loved it and the venture became highly profitable with the ‘risqué’ element being complemented by comedy acts, many of whom launched celebrated careers there.

However, by the 1960s, this once-fashionable Soho area, filled with shops and family restaurants, had turned into a seedy, if not notorious district, awash with strip clubs and massage parlours. The Windmill became the victim of its own success. Other theatres and clubs in the area copied the formula, pulling patrons away. Unable to compete against those new neighbours, the Windmill accepted its inevitable fate. Bowing to the jokers who had changed its slogan to “We never clothed” it finally closed its doors in 1964.