Mary Cavett and Jordan Sobel Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Set designer Tim Mackabee's beckoning interior of a cottage an hour and a half away from London in 1923 is exceptionally rich. Complete with couches, rugs, many lamps, a stocked bookcase, lovely stairway, gramophone, and much more, the place looks like a vacation home anyone would love to have. Call it sumptuous.

Sylvia (Mary Cavett) and Beau (Jordan Sobel) have been lovers for quite some time. The house might actually belong to Beau's mother. His name for Sylvia is Tulip and she is quite at home wearing a pink lingerie type garment (thanks to costume designer Hunter Kaczorowski) early on. Sylvia seems to favor telegrams as her means of communication. She sends one to Clarke (Craig Wesley Divino) advising him that she would rather couple with Beau. She also informs, via telegram, the pregnant Marjorie (Kate MacCluggage), who is Beau's wife. It's not all that shocking that everybody congregates at the cottage and that will include audacious Dierdre (Jetta Juriansz) and her former husband Richard (Matthew J. Harris), who also goes by William.

Director Zoë Golub-Sass's pacing is brisk and she allows her high-energy actors plenty of room to carouse and cavort. She supplies specific movement so that performance is both disciplined yet simultaneously quite breezy in feel. The play is most absurd at times and a commentary, one might say, about marriage and, well, cheating. Toss in secrecy as well. Toward the conclusion of the production, it's clear that Sylvia is a wise, perceptive woman.

Farce typically includes gymnastics, and this cast includes actors who adeptly move around and about, sometimes jumping over sofas. The form often addresses social roles. The Cottage dispenses with propriety very early on.

Mary Caveat's Sylvia is a woman who, at first, seems haughty and snobby. On the other hand, she knows what or, more properly, whom she wants. Sylvia is both romantic and determined and, compared to everyone around her, mature. She might have some vision of the future while other characters react to specific moments. Jordan Sobel depicts Beau as one who is spry and sporty. Kaczorowski has outfitted Craig Wesley Divino in a nicely tailored suit for his role as Clarke, but the character is loud and outrageous. Marjorie will soon give birth, and Kate MacCluggage plays her as one who minces no words. This woman is direct with her sarcasm. Jetta Juriansz seems to have a giddy time playing Dierdre. Proclaiming herself to be a prostitute, she's the uninhibited extrovert who will kick up her heels and more. Without divulging plot detail, it's best to say the Matthew J. Harris demonstrates much versatility as Richard.

The Cottage consistently zeroes in on who is loyal to a marriage and who is not. Playwright Rustin chose 1923 when, in Great Britain, a woman could get a divorce paper for a man who was unfaithful. Thus, if a woman's husband was adulterous, she could file a petition to divorce him. During the previous 65 years or so, a man could utilize the procedure if he found his wife was unfaithful but a woman was unable to follow that practice. The playwright has made reference, in her notes, that farce can be powerful and says, "I will be exploring farce through a feminist lens."

Kate MacCluggage, playing Marjorie, has been featured at Hartford Stage multiple times while the other performers (all proficient) are making their debuts here. Dialect and voice coach Julie Foh should be commended as actor accents are true.

Each of the characters has his or her own take upon romance, sex, passion, desire, and what love might mean. This type of comedy goes full throttle with sight gags, jokes, and lowbrow clowning around. This becomes infectious for theatregoers who simply wish to laugh. While this farce does not include slamming of entrance and exit doors, the gags caused by confusion carry the day.

The Cottage runs through February 8, 2026, at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford CT. For tickets and information, please call 860-527-5151 or visit HartfordStage.org.