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The Wounds of Love and Other Gifts
a new work of music theatre by Bruce Dow
after the words of Oscar Wilde and Friends
Words and Music by Bruce Dow
after the words of Oscar Wilde and Friends
Directed by Bruce Dow
Choreographed by Jeff Dimitriou
Musical Direction, Supervision, and Orchestrations by Ethan Rotenberg
Produced by Olivia Daniels and AIR Collective
in association with The Alliance for Canadian Musicals
for the 2026 Toronto Fringe Festival
Stage Management, Bella Szpalla
Assistant Stage Managers, Jacqueline Chan and Justyn Nishimura

ABOUT THE SHOW
Age Recommendation: 14+
(What you will see is one movement from within a larger work.
For more information about the complete piece, please contact: thewoundsoflove@gmail.com)
Created, composed, and directed by award-winning theatre artist Bruce Dow — a two-time Dora Award winner with five featured roles on Broadway and 12 seasons at the Stratford Festival — this new work of music theatre, featuring text drawn from the writings of Oscar Wilde and his contemporaries, has been in ongoing development since 2008, with previous iterations presented at the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, and as a full professional production with Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre.
Shaped in its current form by Dow’s work in existential psychotherapy, the piece approaches these fables not as moral lessons, but as lived dilemmas — intimate, complex, and deeply human.
Inspired by Wilde’s The Happy Prince and Other Tales — originally written for his sons — the piece moves beyond the familiar comfort of “stories for children” to ask more challenging questions of us as adults: What does it cost to care? What does it mean to give? And how do we live meaningfully in relation to others?
With choreography by internationally renowned choreographer, artist, and creator Jeff Dimitriou, and new orchestrations by Musical Director and Music Supervisor Ethan Rotenberg (Shaw Festival, Shifting Ground Collective), the production brings together a cast of emerging voices from across the Canadian theatre, dance, and opera worlds. Blending chorus, aria, movement, and text, the work unfolds as a fluid interdisciplinary experience — music, movement, and theatre.
This is a piece that asks something of its audience — and offers something in return.
The Wounds of Love and Other Gifts is a true interdisciplinary experiment that we are so excited to share with Toronto audiences.

THE CAST
DANCER Erinn Bekkers
Body of The Swallow
SHE Kendra Dyck
Voice of The Swallow
HER Priha Khatri
The Protagonist and The Mothers
HE Ronan Hayes
The Happy Prince
HIM Braeden Soltys
The Young Poet
The Professor of Ornithology,
and The Town Councillor
THE TEAM
PRODUCER Olivia Daniels
CREATOR, COMPOSER, DIRECTOR Bruce Dow
CHOREOGRAPHER Jeff Dimitriou
MUSICAL DIRECTION, MUSICAL SUPERVISION
and ORCHESTRATIONS Ethan Rotenberg
STAGE MANAGEMENT Bella Szpala
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGEMENT Jacqueline Chan
Justyn Nishimura
COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES
“DANCER” – ERINN BEKKERS
THE BODY OF THE SWALLOW

“SHE” – KENDRA DYCK
THE VOICE OF THE SWALLOW

“HER” – PRIYA KHATRI
THE PROTAGONIST and THE MOTHERS

“HE” – RONAN HAYES
THE HAPPY PRINCE

“HIM” – BRAEDEN SOLTYS
THE YOUNG POET,
THE PROFESSOR OF ORNITHOLOGY,
THE TOWN COUNCILLOR


CREATOR, COMPOSER, DIRECTOR
BRUCE DOW

CHOREOGRAPHER
JEFF DIMITRIOU
MUSICAL DIRECTOR, MUSICAL SUPERVISOR, ORCHESTRATIONS
ETHAN ROTENBERG
STAGE MANAGEMENT
BELLA SZPALA