HOT FLASH COMEDY
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Sq.
When: Saturday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $43.25 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or rmts.bc.ca
Comox comedian Syd Bosel can find the funny in anything, from feminism and parenting to incontinence and sex.
But there are two topics she does not want to make light of during her performance Saturday at the McPherson Playhouse. One is breast cancer, which Bosel beat 10 years ago. The other is dementia, which her husband is battling.
“I haven’t actually written very much about that,” Bosel, 64, said of the cognitive disorder that is affecting her husband, Ron. “It’s highly personal and it’s his story. But what I can write about is how it impacts me. And obviously that needs to be funny. I’m a comedian. I’m only there to make people laugh. That’s the first order of business. And if they happen to get anything else from it, that’s nice.”
Bosel, who is about to perform her biggest show ever in Victoria, both in terms of length (60 mins.) and seats (772), is already thinking about her next tour, one that may break the seal on one of her taboo topics. “I want to do a tour called This is Not Your Grandma’s Dementia,” she said with a laugh. “Because it’s really different [nowadays]. People like to minimize the impact by saying things like, ‘Well, I do that, too.’ Or, ‘He seems perfectly fine to me.’ And, ‘Oh yeah, my grandma has that.’ But they don’t live with their grandma. Their grandma is not their life partner. Their grandma is not their childrens’ father. I just haven’t figured out how to [tackle the topic] yet.”
Bosel appeared on an episode of Canada’s Got Talent in April, and her audition won raves of support from the four judges. The showcase (after which she announced her husband’s dementia diagnosis) was a boon to her career, as it introduced the late bloomer, who didn’t fully commit to her profession until 10 years ago, to a nationwide audience. But looking back, she feels Canada’s Got Talent painted her into somewhat of a corner.
Her age was played as a novelty during her appearance, Bosel said, and it felt like she was presented as a “doddering, older person.” She is now making attempts to change the public’s perception of her. “In terms of content for my material, I’ve evolved to realize that I do not want to be disparaging about getting older. I want to only speak positively and sarcastically about some of the stuff.”
Bosel’s Hot Flash Comedy event on Saturday will feature Victoria comedian Patricia Ellen and Toronto comic Cathy Boyd, two of the many female comics with whom she has developed close relationships. Bosel fell in with a group of female comics when she lived in Vancouver and continues to offer her support in return, now that her stock has risen in the comedy community. She’s an audience favourite (Bosel was named B.C.’s Funniest New Female Comic by a Vancouver organization in 2018) who continues to sharpen her craft, doing what she can to improve each time she steps on stage.
“There’s two things that I love about comedy. One is the community, and the other is the finite art form. I think it’s really important to continue to learn. You might have the guts to go on stage and you might be a funny person, but there is structure to the job, from writing to delivery, and nuances that make a joke better.”
She first attempted stand-up comedy in the 1990s, when her children were young, but the late nights didn’t work with her schedule. She returned to the trade 1o years ago, following what she describes as a “difficult” battle with breast cancer. Bosel said she was warmly welcomed on the Vancouver comedy circuit, and quickly became known for her work ethic and commitment. She worked full-time in social services during the day, and at night took classes, worked open mic nights, and headlined shows of her own.
Her career momentum was curbed when her husband’s dementia became more advanced. The loss of his income prompted the couple to move to Comox, where she began pursuing comedy full-time. It was a form of healing, she said. “I was quite lost having moved to Comox, and finding the comedy community on Vancouver Island, especially under the circumstances, I was so grateful. We don’t have anything in common. I am the oldest comic on the Island, but we have the art in common.”
It’s still difficult, balancing life and art, but Bosel is making the most of her opportunities. “The thing with Ron, it’s every single day. It’s harder to write about, because it’s not past tense. We’re not over this. We’re still in it. And unlike joking about children who are in that awkward phase, there is no potential here. There’s more hardness coming.”
She remains upbeat about her career, and said she regularly receives messages from fans who say her performances are like “coming to see a friend.” Ego does not enter into the equation for Bosel, however, who remains committed to comedy, regardless of the results.
She uses a story to illustrate her point. While hiking in Comox recently, she stopped to help two women needing directions, both of whom were roughly her age. They recognized her from Canada’s Got Talent and were quite emotional about meeting her. “They said, ‘We’re so happy for you that you’re doing this and we are so behind you.’ And I just thought, wow, that’s so sweet. So sweet. It was lovely.”
The following day, at her gym in Comox, another woman walked toward Bosel, smiling. “She comes over and I think, here it goes again,” Bosel said. “She leans up to my ear and she says, ‘Hi, you have some toilet paper hanging from the back of your waistband.’ I just hit the floor. But it’s like my parents said. Don’t get too full of yourself.”
