HOPES that a theatre's main auditorium could reopen today have been dashed after fears for the safety of its ceiling.

Plaster falling from the 45ft high ceiling of Harrogate Theatre earlier this week caused the theatre to close. But detailed inspection of the ceiling from newly-erected scaffolding has revealed more cracks.

Two productions have been cancelled - On the Piste, due to run this week until until tomorrow, and Driving Miss Daisy, scheduled from next Tuesday to Saturday, April 13.

A theatre official said some of the auditorium's ceiling plaster had been weakened - apparently because of leaks in the roof.

A full inspection of the ceiling is under way and should take about a week.

"We are endeavouring to contact audiences to give them a full refund," said the spokesman.

Although the main theatre will remain closed, the Swan Players' production of Habeus Corpus, in the studio theatre, will go ahead as planned next week.

The theatre is run by a trust. A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the building, said: "Safety is the prime concern and we cannot risk reopening the building until it is absolutely safe."

No firm date has been set when the curtain will rise again at the 100-year-old Oxford Street playhouse.