FERMANAGH families have said they felt “fleeced” after a recent trip the circus, with one father telling the Herald he felt like a clown after paying so much for a trip to the Big Top.
The Fermanagh Herald was contacted by a number of families last week who had attended Fossetts Circus when it visited Enniskillen recently.
One father said he paid £14 for entry for his three-year-old daughter alone, part of a total £60 price tag for two adults and two children at ringside.
“To expect working people to pay £14 for a toddler is outrageous,” said the father, who added the show got off to a rocky start with poor lip-synching before improving. “My only other gripe is that, after fleecing parents of a small fortune for tickets, the circus had an interval to squeeze another few pounds out of their audience as they offered short rides on Shetland ponies for £3 a go, face painting and buckets of popcorn and other sugar-filled delights to put the kids hyper.
“Don’t get me wrong, it was a great evening spent with the family and our kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it just left a bitter taste in the mouth as the extorionate prices left me feeling like a clown.”
A spokesman for Fossetts said a number of different seat types were available to suit different budgets, ranging from side seats at £8 for kids and £10 for adults, to the most expensive ringside seats that are £14 per child and £16 per adult. They added a special offer had been running on Facebook before the shoe and voucher flyers had been distributed locally.
“It’s up to families whether they want to pay for ringside seats or not, but no matter where they sit they will be getting a two hour live show, with people risking their lives and the best of live entertainment.”
Explaining a travelling circus had high overheads, and extra licences to pay for in the North, the spokesman added: “We would always feel bad about anyone feeling badly about the show, and we’re glad the family had a good time. We are a family circus and have been going for almost 130 years, we’re very proud of our family name. We believe the circus is the theatre of the people, as we bring the theatre into communities so people don’t have to travel to Belfast or Dublin.
“We charge what we believe is market value for our seats, and we’re very sensitive to our pricing. We ask people what they are comparing our prices too. Cinemas can charge less because they are not live, and they don’t move about. If that family was to travel to the Belfast Opera House for one of their excellent pantos, from my experience they would be paying between £12-20 each and would have to travel to get to it. We come into towns, and we offer substantial vouchers and deals.”
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