The Cottage

BY SANDY RUSTIN ​Set in 1923 England, Sandy Rustin's romantic farce is a Noël Coward-inspired comedy of manners centered on a cascading web of extramarital affairs. The play opens with Sylvia Van Kipness and Beau at their annual countryside rendezvous. Sylvia, tired of secrecy, sends a telegram to both her husband, Clarke, and Beau's wife, Marjorie, exposing their year-long affair and demanding they start a new life. The situation spirals into chaos with the arrival of the uninvited spouses, only to reveal an even bigger shock: Clarke and Marjorie are also having a long-standing affair. As secrets and alliances shift among the six characters (including Marjorie's sister, Dierdre), the group must navigate their entangled betrayals through witty banter and physical comedy (including a prop porcupine). Ultimately, the characters embrace a liberated, non-traditional arrangement, rejecting rigid societal expectations in favor of a chaotic but honest resolution that questions the meaning of love and marriage.