THE COTTAGE is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service.
www.concordtheatricals.com
On the Varscona stage
November 12 - 29, 2026
Preview: Nov 12, 2026
All Performances take place at VARSCONA THEATRE - Learn how to get to the theatre here
Evening performances start at 7:30 PM
Saturday & Sunday Matinees start at 2 PM
Varscona Theatre lobby opens 45 minutes before the start of the performance
Run Time
120 Minutes including a 15-minute intermission
AGE RATING
13+
The Cottage
Written by Sandy Rustin
directed by Farren Timoteo
Sylvia and Beau have escaped to an English countryside cottage for their yearly rendezvous, and Sylvia is convinced that this time it will mark the beginning of their new life together. But when Sylvia decides to expose their affair, their respective spouses begin arriving at the cottage, setting off an increasingly outrageous web of secrets, romantic entanglements and potentially murderous complications. With a tip of the hat to Noël Coward and the classic bedroom comedies of the past, The Cottage combines hilarious twists and escalating farce with a thoroughly modern perspective in a deliciously ridiculous 1923 tale of exceedingly good manners and exceptionally bad behaviour!
Starring
Jill Agopsowicz (Sylvia)
Lauren Boyd (Marjorie)
Brennan Campbell (Clarke)
Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks (Dierdre)
Mathew Hulshof (Beau)
Jake Tkaczyk (Richard)
Creative Team
Sandy Rustin (Playwright)
Farren Timoteo (Director)
Sarah Dowling (Assistant Director)
Ami Farrow (Set Designer)
Brian Bast (Costume Designer)
Victor Snaith Hernandez (Lighting Designer)
Jenn Galm (Intimacy Director)
Garett Ross (Fight Director)
Hunter Luth (Stage Manager)
Tiana McLean (Production Manager)
Lora Brovold and David Ley (Dialect Coaching Team)
Special Experiences
Discover Teatro’s special ticket offers and themed evenings - from discounted previews to Pay-What-You-Can Tuesdays, dinner packages, and more!
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Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 7:30 PM. ALL tickets cost $30 each (our lowest ticket price!)
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A PWYC performance means you choose the ticket price! We recommend $20 per ticket, but we happily accept less or more!
The Cottage PWYC Performances are:
Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 21 at 2:00 PM
Tuesday, November 24 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, November 28 at 2:00 PM
Please Note: PWYC tickets are available at the door only.Our Box Office opens 45-minutes before the performance is set to start.
We accept cash, debit, and credit.
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On the 1st Wednesday of every run, be treated to complimentary wine and cheese at intermission. Generously hosted by our Board of Directors with wine, cheese and crackers provided by CKS Legal Technology Law.
Wine and Cheese Night for The Cottage: Wednesday, November 18
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2:00 - 5:00 PM on Sunday, November 22nd
After an incredibly popular first season, the Teatro Drama Club returns for 2026/27! We’re thrilled to welcome junior high and high school students back to the Varscona Theatre for an experience that takes them beyond the audience and into the creative process.
ONE Teatro Drama Club ticket includes a one ticket to the performance of The Cottage, a post-show talkback with the cast, and an exclusive 30-minute roundtable discussion with set designer Ami Farrow in the Varscona rehearsal hall.
Curious about how a theatrical world comes to life? This is your opprotunity to ask questions, explore the creative process, and pick the brain of a professional theatre designer!
Schedule for the Teatro Drama Club - Sunday, November 22nd
1:15 - 1:55 PM - Arrive at Varscona Theatre to watch the performance of The Cottage
2:00 - 4:00 PM*: Performance of The Cottage
4:00 - 4:30 PM*: Talkback with the cast
4:30 - 5:00 PM*: Roundtable discussion with the Set Designer*Timing is approximate
Teatro Drama Club Ticket Price: $15
Only 30 spots are available! Don't wait to reserve your spot here.
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6:45 PM on Monday, November 16th @ Metro Cinema
The mischief continues on the big screen with our brand-new Teatro Film Club! Throughout the 2026/2027 season, Teatro Live! is teaming up with Metro Cinema to co-present a series of classic films at Edmonton’s historic Garneau Theatre. Each of our stage productions will have its own companion screening, with a film specially chosen to complement the fun unfolding at the Varscona!
First up: the 1985 comedy classic Clue, screening on Monday, November 16, at 6:45 p.m. It’s also the film Sandy Rustin turned into her hugely popular stage comedy! With its country-house setting, eccentric guests, secrets and escalating comic chaos, it’s a particularly fitting companion to The Cottage. Artistic Director Farren Timoteo will introduce the film.
Craft beer, candlesticks and comedy, oh my!
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6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14th.
This season, we’re putting our wonderful playwrights in the spotlight with The Writer’s Room, a new series of audience Q&As celebrating the writers behind our productions. It’s your opprotunity to hear how their plays take shape, discover what inspires them and ask a few questions of your own. Join us for the very first conversation with Sandy Rustin, the playwright of The Cottage!
Writer's Room Fee: $10 (this option will pop-up as an "Add-on" when booking tickets for the November 14th performance).
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1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 14th
Join Sandy for an intensive 2-hour class in the art of writing comedy for the stage!
In this 2hr class, Broadway playwright, Sandy Rustin, outlines the nitty-gritty of crafting a comedy for the stage. She guides students through a series of exercises in developing comedic characters & dialogue, understanding physical space & physicality, defining rhythm, style & tone, and establishing a plot (spoiler: don’t worry about plot). Learn what’s funny and how to make it funnier, while discovering your own comedic voice and answering the question: If a joke’s told in the woods and no one’s there to laugh, is it funny? By the end of the course, students will have the beginnings of their own comedic play.
This workshop is sponsored by Theatre Alberta as part of ‘Workshops by Request: Hometown Series.
Workshop Fee: $30
CREATIVE TEAM BIOS
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Jill is thrilled to be making her Teatro debut and being a part of this incredible cast and team of The Cottage! Theatre credits include: Murder of the Orient Express (The Citadel Theatre/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Wizard of Oz, One Man, Two Guvnors (The Citadel Theatre); Grease, Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia!, Sister Act, All Shook Up (Mayfield Dinner Theatre); Anne of Green Gables: The Musical (Theatre Calgary - Betty Nomination); The Last Christmas Turkey (Theatre Orangeville) Film & TV: Umbrella Academy (Netflix), The Hot Zone: Anthrax (National Geographic/Disney), Workin’ Moms (CBC).This show is dedicated to Carolyn - who taught me the importance of a good laugh.
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Lauren is an actor, director and writer based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) and a founding member of the Sterling-award-winning collective Cousins In Law Productions. She loves any opportunity to be silly with friends, such as performing in Speed! A 1940's Radio Drama as the pre-pubescent Telegram Boy, Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs JR!, and various characters during Don't Not Talk to Strangers residency at the Grindstone Theatre and their sold out run at Chicago Sketchfest. She has performed and written sketch at the Second City Conservatory (Toronto), Improv Olympic (Chicago), and The Groundlings (Los Angeles). She holds a Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance from Sheridan College. Select Directing Credits: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Robocop (Cousins/Fringe), Crybaby (Uniform Theatre), Into the Woods (Ovation Ottawa), Silence of the Lambs JR! (Cousins/Fringe), Cabaret (Ovation Ottawa), The Frogs (No Tomatoes/Fringe), Mamma Mia! (Asst Director, Globe Theatre).
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Cynthia is a theatre artist, educator, and creator from Amiskwaciwâskahikan. Theatre: Murder on the Orient Express, Spelling Bee, Christmas Carol, The Candidate, The Party (The Citadel Theatre); Cursed Child (Broadway/San Francisco); Wendy and Peter Pan, Cymbeline (Stratford Festival); This London Life (Grand Theatre); Girls Like That (Tarragon Theatre); Boys Girls…Mythological Creatures (Carousel Theatre). Film / TV: Rubble & Crew, From, Law & Order Toronto, Murdoch Mysteries, Barbelle, Hudson & Rex. Offstage credits include assistant director/choreographer on Narnia (Bad Hats/Soulpepper/Crows); Wizard of Oz, Midsummer Night’s Dream, (The Citadel Theatre). Cynthia frequently works as an acting coach and drama teacher - you should reach out to her to work together! Immense gratitude to Cameron, Freddie, and the Grandparents. cynthiajimenezhicks.com
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Mathew made his debut with Teatro in Mrs. Lindeman Proposes at the 2011 Fringe, and has subsequently appeared in The Euphorians, The Nutcracker Unhinged, Hey, Countess!, For the Love of Cynthia, I Heard About Your Murder, A Lesson in Brio, A Likely Story, A Momentary Lapse, The Margin of the Sky, The Oculist’s Holiday, On the Banks of the Nut, Cocktails at Pam's, as well as in the streaming video presentation of A Fit, Happy Life. His other local credits include Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberly, A Christmas Carol (The Citadel Theatre), Bed and Breakfast (Theatre Network), Happy Birthday, Baby J (Shadow Theatre), and Our Man in Havana (Bright Young Things). He’s also been seen at Workshop West and The Mayfield Dinner Theatre, and his performance in Concrete Theatre’s 2012 production of Smokescreen won him a Sterling Award. Earlier this season he played Thomas in Casey and Diana at Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops. Currently residing in Toronto, Mathew spent most of 2024 in Paris (France!) where he appeared with Alchemy Theatre in a staged reading of Chekov’s The Three Sisters. Mathew will be returning to star in Teatro's June production of The Glittering Heart. Love to Jonathan.
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Jake is an Edmonton-based actor, theatre-maker, arts leader, and educator. He holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta and recently completed a PhD in Art and Philosophy through Liverpool John Moores University and Transart Institute. As a performer and creator, Jake has worked across theatre, interdisciplinary performance, cabaret, and new work development, with past collaborations including Die-Nasty, Shadow Theatre, Northern Light Theatre, and the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. He has taught at The Citadel Theatre’s Foote Theatre School and the University of Alberta Augustana Campus, and currently serves as Managing Director of Shumka and founder of MUNT. His artistic practice is particularly interested in performance that is playful, unruly, and conscious of the audience in the room. Jake is delighted to be making his Teatro Live debut!
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Sandy is an actor and writer named one of the most produced playwrights in the country by American Theatre Magazine (’25-’26). Her adaptation of the film Clue has enjoyed over 5,000 productions worldwide (Clue/Cluedo) and is currently touring the U.S. and Australia.
Sandy made her Broadway debut with her feminist farce, The Cottage (named one of the best plays of the year by Entertainment Weekly). Her concert adaptation of Dear World for NY City Center Encores! was a NY Times Critic’s Pick, and her adaptation of Mystic Pizza premiered in ’25 and the cast album was recently released. Her play with music Almost Like a Dance is in development with Grammy winner Edie Brickell, and her play The Suffragette’s Murder, a winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and a Henry Award nominee, premiered at The Denver Center for Performing Arts in 2025. Her musical Always Something There premiered in Chicago at The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre in 2025. Other Works: Loch Ness (upcoming world premiere), Jolly Holiday; Celebrating Disney’s Broadway Hits (Paper Mill Playhouse), I Married an Angel (NY City Center Encores!), American Girl Live (National Tour), Rated P… For Parenthood (off-Broadway, West Side Theatre), Elijah, Struck, and more.
A Northwestern University graduate, Sandy is a member of ASCAP, SAG, AEA and The Dramatists Guild, is a member of Florida Studio Theatre’s Playwright Collective, and is represented by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone. With her family, Sandy created the Jerry Kraut Memorial Fund. She serves on the Board of the NJ non-profit Project Write Now and on the Advisory Board of the new musical incubator The Bridge. She lives in Maplewood, NJ with her husband and two sons. www.sandyrustin.com
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Farren is in his second season as Artistic Director of Teatro Live! He first appeared with the company in 2005 in A Momentary Lapse, and his subsequent Teatro credits include acting in A Rocky Night for His Nibs, Mother of the Year, The Scent of Compulsion, Marvelous Pilgrims, A Grand Time in the Rapids, and Listen Listen, and directing The 39 Steps, Fully Committed, Everybody Goes to Mitzi’s and The Infinite Shiver, the last two he also co-authored. For 20 years, he was Artistic Director of Alberta Musical Theatre, the company which tours original musicals to schools throughout the province. Other acting credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jersey Boys, The Three Musketeers, The Fiancée, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Monty Python’s Spamalot (The Citadel Theatre), As You Like It and Shakespeare in Love (The Citadel Theatre/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), The Light in the Piazza (Theatre Calgary), and Forever Plaid and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Mayfield Dinner Theatre). He has toured his award-winning solo show Made in Italy across Canada since 2016, with recent appearances in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. Farren’s work as an actor has earned him multiple Sterling Awards, Jessie Richardson Awards, Betty Mitchell Awards, Theatre Critics Awards, and in 2015 he was named one of Avenue magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. He can next be seen on the Varscona stage in the Teatro Live! production of Popcorn Falls.
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Sarah Dowling is a theatre artist who’s had the privilege to direct, choreograph, and perform both at home on the Canadian Prairies and across the globe. Select directing and choreography credits: Evil Dead (Choreographer- Alberta Theatre Projects), The Wizard of Oz (Asst. Choreographer- The Citadel Theatre), The Greatest Showgirl, Romeo & Juliet's Notebook, The Matrixx, Gatsby's Cabaret, Dirtier Dancing, Titanical (Choreographer- Spotlight Cabaret), Die Harsh: A Christmas Musical (Director/Choreographer- Grindstone Theatre), Morningside Road (Choreographer/Asst.Director- Shadow Theatre), Assassins (Director- Uniform Theatre), The Rocky Horror Show (Choreographer- Grindstone Theatre), Private Lives, Everybody Goes to Mitzi's (Choreographer- Teatro Live!), Anything Goes (Director- MacEwan University, spring 2027). Sarah was selected for the 2026 Director's Lab North cohort and the second cohort for the Canadian Guild for Stage Directors and Choreographer's Assistants and Associate Program. Thank you to CGDC for making this opportunity possible, to Farren for his enthusiastic mentorship, and to Evan and Winnie for their unending love.
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Brian’s last project with Teatro was The 39 Steps and he is thrilled to be back. He’s an award winning Edmonton set and costume designer whose work has been seen on stages across Alberta with Shadow Theatre, Festival Players, Alberta Opera, Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, Players De Novo, Red Deer College, Grande Prairie Live Theatre, MacEwan University, The Citadel Theatre, Mayfield Dinner Theatre, and Theatre Yes along with numerous Fringe Productions. Favorite productions he has designed include: 10 times 2 (Sterling Award winner for Outstanding Costume Design), My Name is Rachel Corrie, The List (both nominated for Set Design), Race, Dead Letter, Glorious, Stars on her Shoulders, Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, The Weir, Xanadu, A Little Night Music, As You Like It, White Christmas, Twelfth Night, Cinderella and The Colour of Flesh (Both nominated for Costume Design), Mary Poppins, and My Fair Lady.
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Ami Farrow is an Edmonton-based theatre designer originally from Saskatoon. She is excited to be making her Teatro Live! debut with The Cottage. Ami’s design credits span lighting, set, costumes, and video for productions across Alberta. Recent credits include The Highest Step in the World (Ghost River Theatre), Anthem of Life and Creature in the Dark (Theatre Prospero), With Bells on the Musical (Theatre Network), The Wizard of Oz and Man of La Mancha (Rosebud Theatre), All the Little Animals I Have Eaten, Happy Birthday Baby J, and Autumn (Shadow Theatre), as well as Krampus: A New Musical and WILDCAT (Workshop West). Ami also collaborates with Edmonton’s South Asian dance community as a lighting designer and works as a stage manager, lighting designer, and dancer with Luna Dance Fusion. She teaches Theatre Production at the University of Alberta. Outside the theatre, Ami loves to skate, create textiles, and raise her two darling children.
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Hunter is delighted to return to Teatro Live!, having previously stage managed Deathtrap, Private Lives, The Noon Witch and The 39 Steps. He is an Equity Stage Manager based in Edmonton, and is a graduate of MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program. Selected previous credits include work as an assistant stage manager for Edmonton Opera’s Orphée+, Stabat Mater, Don Giovanni, Das Rheingold, Bluebeard's Castle, Die Walküre, and Siegfried, and as stage manager of Jack and the Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel Virtual Tour for Alberta Musical Theatre Company, and Hold These Truths for University of Alberta & Edmonton Japanese Cultural Association, and Cosi Fan Tutte for Opera Kelowna, and Aquarius for Edmonton Opera. He also serves as Operations Manager for Alberta Musical Theatre Company in his copious spare time.
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Victor is a Mexican-Canadian actor, designer, and technician, who is excited to be working and creating on Treaty 6 territory. Recent technical credits include, Cocktails at Pam’s for Teatro Live!, Assistant Lighting Design for The Citadel Theatre’s Murder on the Orient Express and Life of Pi, Lighting Design for Mump and Smoot's production of The Exit at Theatre Network and at One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo, and Dogbite Theatre's production of TELEVANGELISTS. Recent acting credits include ECOS (Diaspora Diaries and Common Ground Arts). He would like to thank everyone in his life whose trust, support and encouragement are invaluable in this process!
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After doing Scenic Construction/Carpentry on numerous Teatro shows in recent seasons, Tiana is now the company’s first official Production Manager. A graduate of MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program, Tiana has spent the last two decades working in Edmonton Theatre, where extreme weather, fire, illnesses, broken scenery, aggressive prop handling, and squirrels have taught her much about problem solving and remaining calm in a crisis. Past credits include working as Production Manager for FreeWill Shakespeare Festival, Head of Lighting and Carpentry for Theatre Network, and Technical Director for Alberta Musical Theatre (formerly Alberta Opera). Her favourite show experiences include doing scenic construction for AMTC’s Pinocchio while 7 months pregnant, and building the tricky/scary sets for The Woman in Black both at Theatre Network and Teatro Live. Tiana recently became the Varscona Theatre’s Director of Production.
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Brennan is an Edmonton-based actor and dancer. He has been performing for twenty seven years and has performed in Canada, Australia, Japan, and England. He is a graduate of MacEwan University’s Theatre Arts program and interned with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre (Brisbane, Australia). Previous work includes touring his original plays to nearly every Fringe Festival in Canada, dancing with the legendary butoh company Dairakudakan (Tokyo), and playing a corpse in Lucifer Season 2, Episode 16. Some select credits include: Lion-O in thunderCATS the musical (Grindstone Theatre), Charles/Silvius in As You Like It (Freewill Players), and Patrick in Where You Are (Shadow Theatre).
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Jenn is a multidisciplinary creator proudly based in amiskwaciwâskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton. She is currently pursuing certification as an Intimacy Director with Principal Intimacy Professionals (PIP). They are overjoyed to be back with Teatro LIVE! after working with the team on 39 Steps. Other Intimacy work includes: Hadestown (Lillian Osborne High School), Isolde & Tristan (Theatre Network Summer Academy), and Hadestown ((yes, again.) Strathcona High School). Her work philosophy includes building a culture of consent within traditionally underserved spaces and striving for growth and knowledge to achieve greater understanding. Enjoy the show!
TEATRO LIVE RECIPE CORNER
Something to Savour from The Cottage Cookbook….
Nothing says England quite like a crumpet. Elizabeth Raffald included a recipe for “tea crumpets” in The Experienced English Housekeeper in 1769, and during the nineteenth century they became a fixture of the English tea table. By 1923, a soft, spongy crumpet, with all those lovely holes for butter to sink into, would have been quite at home in a country cottage kitchen.
(In British slang, “a bit of crumpet” also means someone rather fetching, which, given the goings-on at The Cottage, seems only fitting.)
And Something to Drink…
At The Cottage, the Scotch starts flowing before the church bells have even struck ten in the morning! For our cocktail, we’re following their lead and putting Scotch centre stage with a Blood and Sand. Its name is thought to be a nod to Rudolph Valentino’s 1922 silent film about a dashing bullfighter, released just a year before our play takes place. The recipe first appeared in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, although its actual origins remain uncertain.
Our characters drink their Scotch neat. Lucky you, you needn’t.