Five years after putting Bermuda theatre on a semi-professional footing, Jabulani Repertory Company is to close its doors.

In his shock announcement, producer Dusty Hind confirmed that the present season of `Cocktail Theatre' in the Gazebo Lounge of the Hamilton Princess, will be its last.

"The Princess Hotel was recently purchased by Canadian Pacific and, although we've not been asked to move out, it would make sense for them to restore this significant asset to the social hub that it used to be in the 1960s and 1970s,'' said Mr. Hind.

"On a business level, it's been a marginal operation at best and, rather than mount new productions for the winter season, we decided this would be the best time to bow out.

"And after staging over 550 performances in 23 separate productions, I think we all need a bit of a rest. We do hope, however, that Jabulani will be able to continue in some form, as we believe it has transformed the theatre and entertainment scene in Bermuda.'' The company, which has involved more than 100 people onstage and behind the scenes, is professional in that all participants are paid for their services.

Audiences, estimated to have amounted to more than 70,000 people over the past five years, have been drawn from the local community and overseas visitors.

Admitting that he had been "disappointed'' by the level of support from cruise ship business, Mr. Hind said he had seriously considered carrying on for one more season. "We did try to find a corporate sponsor but, so far, have been unlucky.'' In spite of this, the producer remains upbeat about possibilities for the future. "I am very proud of what we have achieved,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

"We have proved that professional theatre here is viable, that it's possible to stage 40 or 50 performances of one play -- and that's not been done here since the 1950s when we had a short spell of professional theatre at the old Bermudiana Hotel.

"We have established ourselves and have a good following in the community, so it's certainly my hope that we can find some sort of alternative venue. I would love to keep it going, but we now have to try and do this in a different way. We've had some amazingly talented people working with Jabulani and I think many of us would like to continue, or even expand our role in providing live entertainment in Bermuda.'' Jabulani, which has presented a wide variety of shows ranging from comedy and farce to classic murder mysteries, will present its last performances of the farce, `Pajama Tops' (starring Keith Madeiros) this week through Saturday.

Neil Simon's `The Odd Couple' will be shown on October 8-10 and October 15-17, and audiences will have their last chance to see Helen Coffey and Richard Fell in Noel Coward's `Private Lives' on October 22-24 and October 29-31.