Cocktail, dinner and participatory theatre is now the fastest-growing branch of entertainment in North America, says Jabulani Repertory Company producer, Dusty Hind.

This may explain, at least in part, the extraordinary success enjoyed by the Jabulani group during its past two winter seasons of Cocktail Theatre at the Pembroke Princess Hotel.

Last year, 8,500 people piled into the Gazebo Bar to watch 60 performances of four separate productions.

"I think we've proved that professional theatre is viable in Bermuda,'' says Mr. Hind.

Now, the company is poised to launch its third season, with four brand-new shows. Once again, Jabulani appears to have laid its finger on the pulse of its audiences which comprise an almost equal mix of visitors and locals. Lined up for this season, which opens on November 9, is a selection that should have wide appeal.

That ever-popular imported brand of theatre -- British farce -- is represented by `Move Over, Mrs. Markham', while `Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' tells the bitter-sweet story of the great jazz singer, Billie Holiday. `Once On This Island', the `mythical' Caribbean musical, has played to sold-out houses in London and New York, and finally, Jabulani will present the sparkling West End hit, `Relatively Speaking' by Alan Ayckbourn.

"I think our success reflects a complete turnaround in what entertainment in Bermuda is now all about,'' explains Mr. Hind. "If you go back 20 years ago or more, there were ten `dedicated' (i.e. full time) night club facilities from St. George's to Southampton, with about 14 local groups touring these venues as opening or headline acts. About half a dozen of the nightclubs were presenting international shows that mostly changed every couple of weeks.'' Jabulani staging four new productions Pointing out that there are now only four such `dedicated' nightspots and, correspondingly, only about 1,000 seats, he comments: "I believe that such factors as the musicians' union, immigration policies and ever-increasing operating costs have contributed to the difficulties and final viability of operating nightclubs here.'' "But,'' he emphasises, "there is another important aspect, which is the change in taste, habits and expectations of our visitors and local audiences.'' He notes that 50 or 20 years ago, the type of programmes that were being beamed through the three American TV networks tended toward variety shows and musicals.

"Nowadays, with TV by far the most consumed form of entertainment, there has been a total change of emphasis. Most prime time viewing is geared toward soap operas and half-hour `sitcoms'.'' In Mr. Hind's view, both rely on showing people in limited environs, delivering lines. "This, of course, is the basic format of a stage play, so it's interesting to note that, on a daily basis, North America is now consuming about five hours of `mini-theatre' a day!'' He admits that tourism surveys have had a direct influence on the decision taken by him and director Patricia Pogson to stage cocktail theatre as viable entertainment for visitors: "One of the prevailing criticisms noted on tourist surveys has been `not enough live entertainment at night'.'' Dusty Hind's involvement with the theatre goes back to his childhood when, "although it's difficult to imagine now, I was a boy soprano. My voice broke right in the middle of a solo of `Ave Maria' in the largest Baptist church in my town.'' That town was actually the naval city of Portsmouth, where he would go on to work at the well-known Theatre Royal, with the Hector Ross and June Sylvane Repertory Company, which then moved to the equally famed King's Theatre in nearby Southsea.

"I used to go on Saturday mornings to acting classes and when I went to Portsmouth College of Art, I paid part of my way through by working part time as assistant stage manager and doing small parts. I played a variety of spear-carriers and footmen!'' He also worked at the Grand Theatre in Southampton with another of England's then ubiquitous repertory companies, with such 1950s headliners as Frankie Howard, Sarah Churchill, Elsie and Doris Waters and Bill Maynard.

"Sometimes, it was very hard, trying to juggle college and theatre all at once,'' he laughs. "The art college was about half a mile away from the theatre so I would leap from life-classes and pedal like hell to the theatre, throw on whatever I was wearing that night and rush on stage just in time.'' Mr. Hind, who came to Bermuda in 1962, was soon involved in local theatricals, mainly BMDS. After a long interval filled, in part, by career demands and family, he found himself onstage again just two years ago, when theatre director Patricia Pogson chose him to play the role of a South African businessman in her production of `Six Degrees of Separation'.

Some 20 years before that, however, his advertising agency, Aardvark, had continued his involvement in the world of showbiz through the two Princess Hotels: "Back in the old days, when people like Frankie Avalon, Phyllis Diller and the Drifters all came here to play in their nightclubs.'' During rehearsals for `Six Degrees' he became friends with Patricia Pogson and they realised they shared the same dream of establishing professional theatre in Bermuda.

"I had been doing the advertising for the Princess for a long time and realised that the Gazebo Lounge was not used for five months of the year, so that's how the whole thing really began.'' In spite of some minor, if inevitable teething troubles, that first season was an instant success. "It was still an experiment, so we did four different shows two days a week, and it was fairly low key.'' Last year, they expanded four productions to run three days (Thursdays through Saturdays) to now eagerly expectant audiences.

"Although we lost money that first year, we had learned a lot and felt pretty confident that the community could and would support our endeavour, as long as we got the right mix of shows and performers.'' An important aspect of this was the commitment, by both Patricia Pogson and Dusty Hind, to integrated theatre.

"When I'm considering a show, I have to take into account the tastes and expectations of our local supporters, and also what will attract North American audiences. So it's absolutely essential that we give full consideration to the bi-racial profile of our community and produce shows which reflect that.'' The third season, produced by Dusty Hind and under the direction of Ms Pogson, opens on Thursday, November 9 with a three-night run of `Move Over, Mrs.

Markham' by Ray Cooney and John Chapman. Billed as "a frantic British farce'' with "a lot of mistaken identity, bed-hopping and hilarious antics'', British critics described it as "so funny that it hurts' and `naughty nonsense at its greatest''. The cast will include such local thespian luminaries as Carol Birch, Phillip Jones, Helen Coffey, Ian Burch, Delaey Robinson and Annette Hallett.

Opening dates for the other three plays will be November 16 for `Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill', and November 23 for `One On This Island'.

`Relatively Speaking' will open early in the New Year, on January 4, 1996.

Tickets at $25 are available in advance from the Princess Hotel (295-3000).

THIRD SEASON -- Ms Patricia Pogson (director) and Mr. Dusty Hind (producer) are presenting four new plays for this year's Cocktail Theatre season at the Princess Hotel.

`MOVE OVER!' -- The Jabulani Repertory Company cast of the `frantic British farce', `Move Over Mrs. Markham', which opens at the Pembroke Princess next month. Pictured are (from top, left to right), Thomas Saunders, Delaey Robinson, Annette Hallett, Kathy DeCouto, Amanda Lowe, Phillip Jones, Ian Burch, Julia Snelling and Carol Burch.