Podcast tour recalls Christie Pits Riot

Toronto immersive theatre company the Hogtown Collective has created a podcast and walking tour based on the Christie Pits Riot.

The radio drama is about the day in August 1933 when the display of a swastika flag at a baseball game to intimidate Jewish players led to a brawl in the Christie Pits Park area involving more than 10,000 people. It’s described as one of the worst outbreaks of ethnic violence in Canadian history.

“The Christie Pits Riot,” created by Sam Rosenthal and

Drew Carnwath, follows a 12year-old Jewish boy, Joey Rosenbaum, whose father owns a store not far from the ballpark and who must get his friend Rachel home after the riot breaks out with the help of a woman named Nala.

Star soprano Measha Brueggergosman gives voice to Nala and also contributed original music to the podcast, including a new song, “Champions,” she wrote with Lennie Gallant.

The podcast launches Sept. 30 and can be listened to on its own or as part of a walking tour of downtown Toronto with the Anchor app. See hogtownexperience.com for information. Debra Yeo