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Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment: An introduction.

Service
Overview
:

Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment provides quality, reliable entertainment for audiences of a variety of ages, right across N.Ireland. All of our entertainers have £10 Million Public Liability Insurance included in the price.

Unlike so many of our competitors, we are proud not to solicit or accept Arts Council grants or similar government funding- the success of our business is based solely on the quality of our entertainment & our level of service, not on your taxes!

We treat all of our audiences with equal respect, regardless of race, religion, ability or age. If your group have special needs, please feel free to discuss these at the time of booking.

Expert corporate entertainment, for launches, photocalls, fun days and more
Suitable for restaurants, community festivals, schools, outdoor events, pubs & clubs - the list goes on and on.

Children's birthday parties, end-of-term fun days, leaflet drops, publicity stunts - your imagination is the only limit!

Clowns, Magicians, Punch & Judy, Flea Circus, Stilt Walkers, Street Theatre, Live Statues, Ventriloquists and crazy characters. Inflatable games and full "It's a Knockout" style events. (Click "Ideas" for full details)

We are available for corporate clients & festivals 362 days per year - closed the 25th & 26th of December, and the 1st of January.

Please be aware that ALL enclosed venues must be smoke free, to comply with the law.

Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment: Satisfied Clients, Testimonials.

Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment have a client list running to nearly a thousand names- here's a small selection:

The following councils: Magherafelt District; Antrim Borough; Strabane District; Coleraine; Newry & Mourne District; Newtownabbey Borough; Belfast City; Carrickfergus Borough; Derry City. Newry City Centre Management, The Downs Syndrome Association, Microsoft, 02, Waterstone's, BT, The Health Promotion Agency, Mothercare, the BBC, RTE, the Office of the First Minister, The Sports Council NI, Iceland, Wilson's of Rathkenny, The Ramada & Dunadry Hotels, Belfast Zoo, Riverside Renault, Coca-Cola, The National Trust, Woolworth's & the Big W, Tesco, Vodafone, Antrim Tourist Office, The Tower Centre, Northern Ireland Electricity, The Tower Museum, Wine Inns, The Bank of Ireland (Dublin), First Trust Bank, W.M. McCosh Renault & hundreds schools, community groups, Universities, Golf Clubs, restaurants and festival committees across the country.

We value our reputation very highly, and approach every booking with an identical level of professionalism - be it large or small.

The results of our customer satisfaction survey included the following:


•Average rating for 'Punctuality': Very Good ('very good' being the highest option in the survey)
•'Quality of entertainment' avg. : Very Good
•'Over-all value for money' avg. : Very Good
•'Over-all Satisfaction' avg. : Very Good
•Every single client responding to the survey said "Yes" they would recommend CaptainFranko.com to a friend or relative.

Source: CFR Entertainment client satisfaction survey.

To help ensure reliability, our specially designed booking software ("Entsafe") makes double booking impossible. It also produces a two-stage paper copy of each booking as a fail-safe. All of our bookings are printed on recycled paper.

Testimonials:

"The entertainment was extremely professional, entertaining and always reliable, as well as inspired in concept. Above all, CFR Entertainment was a pleasure to work with." Ms M, Carrickfergus.

"Many thanks for entertaining the kids today - everyone thought it was fantastic, even the parents!" Mrs G, Lisburn.

"I'm sure you already know from the response you received on the evening that everyone very much enjoyed it. Thank you also for the caring way in which you treated our members. We look forward to seeing you again" Mrs H, Coleraine

"Thank you to you & your performers for providing us with an excellent afternoon's entertainment" Mr C, Omagh.

"Thank you so much for your contribution to our festivities this year - it was greatly appreciated" Ms T, Newry.

"Thanks for the excellent children's entertainment you provided ... Your professionalism ensured that everyone had a very enjoyable evening" Lord R., Hillsborough.

"The shows were very entertaining and I have received nothing but gushing praise from the parents" Mr B, Antrim.

"You were amazing - and made the day. your professionalism and your kindness were much appreciated" Mrs H, Co. Down.

"Thanks for being part of our big day and for making it so special" Mr & Mrs M, Ballymena.

"Thanks to you and your staff for the great performance at our carnival" Ms K, Strabane.

"Many thanks... for the invaluable part you played in making our showroom launch so successful" Mr C, Rathkenny.

"Everyone enjoyed the balloon modelling, stilt-walkers and of course the Punch & Judy show" Mrs M, Co. Antrim.

 

Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment: The man behind the name.

Proprietor:

Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment is wholly owned by Mr. Lee Prior, pictured below.

Personal History
From humble beginnings:

 

    Born in London in the (very) early 1970's, I left school at 15 to start work as an engineering apprentice. After three years of training it was time to do what I wanted.

    I left London in 1989 and headed for Paris, France. Although I had grand plans, things took a drastic change for the worse and I became homeless age 19.

    It was while living rough in Paris that I became a fire-breathing* street entertainer. The skills I developed while working the Parisien streets are an essential part of my performance to this day.

    After more than a year of vagrancy I started work for Exact Change SARL, working up to an appointment as manager of a prestigious foreign exchange office in St.Tropez. This is where I started to develop my business knowledge and professional attitude.

    I never stopped street performing (much to the CEO's amusement) and returned to full-time street entertainment in 1995. I settled in Belfast in 1996, entering the professional corporate entertainment circuit in 1997.

    Having spotted a gap in the market for an entertainer with a desire to develop new acts I started Captain Franko Reliable Entertainment in 2001. We employ some of the country's top variety artistes, and only use seasoned professional entertainers. Throughout the year new acts are added to our repertoire, so come back soon!

    Captain Franko is a member of Actors' Equity.

Here's to the next nineteen years......

Lee Prior
See some more..

If you visit my personal site, "The Captain Franko Experience", you can find out more about my time as a tramp. Not to mention laugh at some old photos!

Above photo by F. Belluschi

Layout, code & content © by C.F.R. Entertainment, 1989-2008 Prop. Lee Prior
Site Designed & built by Captain Franko.

*Captain Franko stopped breathing fire in 2001, and due to the serious health dangers associated with fire-eating we do not represent any fire breathers or fire eaters.