More than just a building | The Colab Factory

Hello friends.

I never know how to start a blog post. Is ‘hello friends’ too informal? And what if everyone who reads doesn’t want to be my friend? Anyway, I digress. I’ll know how to start my posts one day.

So shortly I shall be moving out of London. In fact it was meant to be the weekend of the 18th but that didn’t work out…but as a farewell to the city I have loved for the past 3 years, I took a walk around London to say goodbye to the place I called home. I love this city so very much and it was a joy to live here and I think it goes without saying that what I will be missing the most is the theatres.

Throughout this theatre walking tour, I took polaroid photos of all the theatres that meant something to me…be that because of a show that was in there, whether I met friends in there or saw performers for the first time I now love so much, because that theatre or show helped me a great deal, or even just because it is a place that made me happy.

I thought what might be a sweet idea is to do a blog post series, dedicating a short post to each theatre, for maybe once a week until I have covered them all. I’m calling it the ‘More Than Just a Building’ series (because theatres are far more than just a building, see, it’s clever! Kind of anyway)…I don’t know if this will be popular or even something I will like doing, but I do really want to at least start it and see how I feel about it.

So here it is, the first post in this series. Every theatre I have visited and come to love has a bit of a story…and where else would I start but The Colab Factory. So, let’s talk about why to me, The Colab Factory is far more than just a building.

By now I should hope you are all oh too familiar with how I came to find the Colab Factory. If you’re not, read this post here. I won’t be explaining that for the 101st time.

You all know the saying I’m sure – “home isn’t a place but a feeling”. The Colab Factory is that feeling for me. This building…means the absolute world to me. From the outside, it looks like a disused carpet factory, which I believe is actually what it used to be. I actually quite like how from the outside, until the giant Colab Factory banners were up, you would have no idea that was a theatre and the magic it holds inside. I remember the first time I went there for Gatsby, I saw the building but was convinced I was in the wrong place…this couldn’t possibly be a theatre venue could it?!

From the outside, it is a building a lot of people walk past without even a second glance. Inside? It’s the most wonderful and magical place. I’ve seen shows of a wide variety there, met many people there, laughed and cried. It went from an unfamiliar building to somewhere I visited frequently and knew so well and felt the most at ease. When I was in that building, life outside melted away. It felt like a safe little bubble, where all that mattered for a few hours was life inside the building. Life outside stopped and all I knew is what was happening there and then inside. 

This place is where I discovered a whole new world of theatre, completely limitless and filled with endless possibilities. It helped broaden my imagination, opened my eyes to new viewpoints, helped me realise my dreams weren’t so unrealistic and had a chance of becoming a reality. It’s a place I found friends for life and found a theatre genre I felt so incredibly content and at home within. It was the first place I felt at home when I moved to London and I was just one person in a massive city, feeling overwhelmed and lost. This feeling that would always stay with me, even after 3 years. It’s a place where I got to learn so much about myself, and grow and develop as a person. 

Seeing The Colab Factory locked up with the lights off hurt more than I thought it would. I’d been to see the other theatres on my last trip back to London, but hadn’t braved The Colab Factory. This was the first time I’d gone to see it since I left after the concluding two episodes of Bridge Command. So when I saw The Colab Factory that day, the floodgates opened and a huge mixture of emotions came pouring out. I was elated to see the place I loved so much, that holds so many memories, so much sentimentality and that made me so happy. I was at ease because it felt like the first time in months, I was properly home. I was heartbroken to see it locked up with the lights off. I was anxious because there was, and still is, no clear date as to when the doors will re-open and I will get to go inside and see the place, and people again. I was heartbroken because when I left that building and the people on the 18th of March 2020…I didn’t know it would be for this long. I was under the assumption this was a time period that would only be a couple of months, and that would pass quickly. If I’d have known how long the absence would be, I would have said proper goodbyes. I would have not taken it for granted that would be my last visit there for a long time. I would have savoured the feeling that I got from being in there, trying to burn every last detail of the place in my memory as much as I could. 

So. There I was, at the theatre which meant more to me than words can ever do justice for, and all I could do was stand outside…(and cry…).

Everything altogether – the memories I had, how I couldn’t make any more in there for the time being or near future, the people I met and I knew I wouldn’t see them in person for a good while, the significance this place held, in far more ways than one…all of this together was overwhelming to say the least. It was hard to see The Colab Factory with all this in mind, but very necessary. And that is why it always has and always will be, far more than just a building to me.

Stay tuned for the next theatre and story.

As always, take care and stay as happy and healthy as possible, and all the love.