The house that preserves the traditional shape of an atrium house is famous for the mosaic that reads CAVE CANEM ("beware of the dog"), at the main entrance, and now protected with glass. It is accessed from a side entrance which leads directly to the peristylium. The atrium and tablinum had fine mosaics, including one with the scene of actors who are preparing for the play, which named the house. Particular care was attributed to the decoration of the living room: out of the great mythological paintings with episodes from the Iliad, the one still visible is that with Ariadne abandoned by Theseus, on the wall opposite the "Sale of Cupids", a popular theme in the beginning of the 19th century, after the house was excavated.

A small aedicula can be noted in the peristylium. This is the lararium, found in almost all the houses and dedicated to the worship of the Lares and other protective deities of the family. The originals of the mosaics and paintings are preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

A part of the novel, The Last Days of Pompeii, written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1838), takes place in the house.

Date of excavation: 1824-1825.