The latest offering from Mad Horse Theatre may remind some of one of those TV series about educated thirty-somethings who gather together to ponder their identities. Indeed, playwright Gina Gionfriddo has written extensively for the small screen.

But, with loose roots in classical theater and reflections on contemporary manners, “Becky Shaw” contains considerably more wit and bite than most of those series manage. And, though it may introduce a few too many thematic tangents, it’s also very funny. It’s the type of play that Mad Horse does very well.

The story concerns a newly married couple who fix up each other’s friends on a blind date. Suzanna grew up with pal (and onetime lover) Max, a tough nut who thinks that “Love is a happy by-product of use.” She’s not quite convinced and counters that life offers “little pockets of joy to get you through.”

Getting through, we learn, is something she has not herself always found easy to do.

Suzanna’s nurturing hubby, Andrew, doubts Max’s capacity to lighten up but introduces him to the title character, who Max quickly determines is a “desperate woman.” As the play moves along, we learn that Becky is both “delicate” and “intense” as she tries to tease out Max’s well-defended “vulnerability.”

Everyone gets in feints and jabs before Suzanna’s aged mom steps in to revisit the “pockets theme” by lecturing that there need to be “pockets of mystery … [and] … privacy” within relationships if they are to last.

Who else but Mad Horse regular Brent Askari could play Max. He’s an actor who’s played numerous acerbic characters in his career and takes this one on with relish. At Saturday’s opening performance, Askari was totally tuned in to his character’s need to control the situation. Max’s way of cutting through convenient fictions with a razor-sharp wit was a major source of laughs as well as an effective device for forcing the issues of the play.

Elizabeth Chambers used her expressive face to establish her Suzanna’s complex love/hate relationship with Max, a source of strength to her at times but also limiting her at others.

Janice Gardner gave her Becky the appropriate degree of annoyingly manipulative vulnerability that rang true for individuals we have all known at one time or another. Burke Brimmer, as Andrew, was good at leading the audience through his difficult path in dealing with his own and the other characters’ needs.

Stage vet Tootie Van Reenen, in delivering her hard-edged motherly advice, was very funny in a role perfect for her skills.

First-time director James Herrera deserves credit for realizing what is essentially a “little” play that certainly has a lot to say.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland

Look for the full review in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.