New History





On 7th August 1998, The Robertsons and the Baddeleys unlocked the door into the old ABC Cinema which had lain dormant since the previous February. It had been a long fight which they thought would never end, especially in such a way as this. However they were quite unaware of the monumental task before them.
Prologue

The idea for the project was a culmination of Daniel Robertson and sister Julie Robertson's separate dreams. Daniel, who had considerable experience as a technical director in other theatres, always dreamt of having his own theatre. Julie, on the other hand, wanted a decent rehearsal space where she could produce and direct her own shows, while giving the space to other amateur companies in the town for rehearsals. Both were looking around for places to use, and it was their mum, Win, who suggested they look together at the Leigh Coliseum. This was an old cinema in Leigh-on-Sea which before its closure had been used as a Bingo Hall.


They got together and formed a task force with the help of Julie's colleague, Bill Baddeley, and Daniel's colleague, Hannah Campagna. With the help of their parents, Doug and Win, the Robertsons and friends built up support both of the local kind and financial, and put in a bid for the Coliseum. However, due to some legal problems, the deal fell through. It seemed that all hope was lost until Daniel got a phone-call out of the blue from the new owner of the derelict ABC cinema, inviting the team to come along and have a look round. They took him up on his offer and within a fortnight a lease was signed and the team had the keys to the building. The photo above was taken on the first day.

Having got accustomed to the building, the main difficulty was in applying the plans the team had for the Collesium to this building, more vast in structure and housing not one but two auditorias. Between August and October 1998, the team stripped out the downstairs auditorium, dressing rooms and stage, re-wired the building and built a new stage. To navigate the history with ease, please browse through the sections below.

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