existing one, The Royal Gazette has learned.

A working committee organised by Mr. Richard Butterfield has hired Artec Consultants of New York to complete a feasibility study, Mr. Butterfield said yesterday.

And while work is at a preliminary stage, the proposal has the support of Hamilton's Mayor, the Rt. Wor. Cecil Dismont.

"I think it would be a great asset to City Hall,'' Mr. Dismont said. A new theatre "would be one of the things that I would like to see take place'' while in office.

It is proposed the new theatre would be built at the rear of the existing City Hall. Cost estimates are not yet developed, but it would be "a multi-million-dollar project,'' Corporation secretary Mr. Roger Sherratt said.

The existing theatre seats 378 people, and it is expected a new one would be about twice as large, Mr. Butterfield said. But that too has not been precisely worked out.

Artec, the same company that studied the existing City Hall theatre about two years ago and reported it could not easily be enlarged, is expected to begin work soon, Mr. Butterfield said.

Artec's privately-funded study, which would take two to three months, would determine the type, size, and approximate cost of a facility Bermudians would support, he said. Artec is to consult widely, and "we hope that arising out of that effort...will be a substantial consensus that will enable the project to be undertaken''.

If a decision is made to go ahead, architects would be hired to make schematic drawings and a three-dimensional model, he said.

More fundraising would be needed, and ground could be broken in 1996, if not sooner, he said, adding: "There is going to have to be a very broad consensus within the community that this is something to which we want to devote effort and resources.'' Mr. Jay Bluck, chairman of the board of the National Gallery, said a performing arts centre that could seat 700 to 800 people is "the one cultural thing that is still needed on this Island.

"It's the one thing that everyone on this Island should get behind,'' Mr.

Bluck said. "Unfortunately, what happens is if you bring an important performance here to Bermuda, you have to have three or four performances at quite high ticket prices, just to be able to cover your expenses.'' Also, "the youngsters who perform here get shortchanged, while the sports bodies always get a large amount of funding,'' Mr. Bluck said.