Winchester theatre bosses are refusing to make a crisis out of a drama.

The Theatre Royal is beginning to run out of time in its effort to raise some £200,000 to complete its multi-million-pound revamp by the summer.

Plans to open the venue to amateur performers in April have been put back to June or July and even the launch for professionals in the autumn is starting to look doubtful.

Theatre bosses held a meeting last Friday with representatives of local authorities and businesses to discuss the venue's financial needs.

The £200,000 is earmarked for technical equipment at the theatre, which is due to be finished in May. But the mood was upbeat as theatre bosses continued to try to raise the rest of the cash needed for the scheme.

Russell Fairchild, chairman of the Win-chester Theatre Fund, denied that the organisation was now facing a financial crisis.

He said: "This sometimes feels like climbing Everest in bare hands but we are very nearly at the summit."

The meeting at Abbey House - the mayor's official residence - was the first of several to persuade the local community to financially back the appeal.

Tours of the building are soon to be started to galvanise support.

But Mr Fairchild did not rule out yet more bids for money from Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council which have already invested heavily in the scheme.

He said: "This meeting was the beginning of the final push. It involved prospective donors, business sponsors, getting people motivated towards the next, final phase.

"We still have to raise about £200,000. It is not to complete the building, Mansell the contractors will do that in early May. It is towards buying technical equipment.

"We don't want to phase-in installing the technical equipment. We want to put it in straight after Mansell finishes."

Mr Fairchild said it was "premature" to talk about a crisis at the theatre.

He added: "We want to get ahead of the game by making a big push now. We don't want this dragging on through the summer. It is an exciting time and we are on the verge of bringing it all to life."