A one-man show performed by Vancouver-based author and folksinger, Bob Bossin, this is a nostalgic recollection of a world that no longer exists. Using projected black-and-white photographs, silent-film-style title cards, melodically sung and fingerpicked songs, personal narrative and the occasional acting-out of various characters, Bossin tells the story of his father Davy. This is a history that Bossin had constructed through research over many decades, and which he wrote about in his book of the same title.
In this production, Bossin admits that he just scratches the surface, but it still makes for an engaging story. As he sings, speaks, and acts, Bossin tells the story of the rise of his father, born in 1905, to a position of prominence in the world of gambling in Toronto in the 1930s and 1940s, his maneuvering to keep his operation going against the entrapment strategies of politicians and police, and his final decision on what to do about the career he has built up. We also get a sense of Davy’s philosophy, as his son sings the song, “All Horse Players Go Broke”, which illustrates that Davy’s idea of moneymaking was not gambling per se, but providing services to gamblers as a bookie.
