Saturday by the Lake: The Final Two Shows of Domino Theatre’s One-Act Festival
“I have good news for you, some of you have been coming to the festival for years, this year we have six good plays.” These were the words Festival Director Michelle McNichol chose to open the second and final night of this year’s Come Play By The Lake One-Act Festival. I have the pleasure of writing about the final two performances of the festival: NUTZ by Kate Barker and I’ll Call You Back by Valerie Winslow.
NUTZ Does Not Even Begin to Cover It
Barker asks “What would the Peanuts characters be up to today?” and answers with a raunchy comedy which invokes fond nostalgia while also making it abundantly clear from the first moment that these are not the wholesome kids we once knew. The piece opens with the beloved “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi (better known as “The Peanuts Theme”) and is cut off by a grown up Lucy (Katie Flower-Smith) entering the stage while flipping off the Trump supporters offstage behind her. The play is set in a gay bar owned by Marcie (Kate Barker), who has asked a bunch of her old friends to meet for one more drink before the bar closes. Among the attendees are Peppermint Patty (Naomi Greer-Ballance), Charlie Brown (Michael Capon), his sister Sally (Kathy Southmayd), and Lena (Scott Arsenault).
The characters, for the most part, are instantly recognizable as soon as they walk onstage. Marcie wears her signature glasses, Lucy is in a blue top, Charlie in a yellow polo—the costume designs were on point references to the familiar dress of the characters. The only exceptions to this were Sally, who ditched the dotted pink or blue dress completely for an unknown reason, and Lena, who has undergone a significant transition since we knew her last, but whose costume still contains the character’s security blanket as a scarf.
The discernable personas were also made distinct by expert physicality reminiscent of how they moved in the 1960s television specials, with heads drooping when they are sad, and Charlie Brown flipping over backwards attempting to kick a football. The true exemplar of the physicality is Julie Darke as Snoopy, who, as a ghost, still watches over the ever-hapless Charlie Brown. Snoopy is up to his usual mischief, licking Sally from beyond, and recreating the movements he used as a World War I Flying Ace.
It is as a love letter to Charles Schulz’s characters that NUTZ is at its best. The dialogue captures the charm and style with “Good Grief”s galore, and every movement seems to hail back to the source material. One of my personal favourites saw Charlie and Lena sitting at the bar with their elbows resting as though they were back talking on the fence. The allusions were often subtle, but the characters are so established that the audience was in on each and every joke.
Where NUTZ missed the mark for me was in the delivery of its message. While Peanuts was always extremely tactful in delivering contemplative reflection on the human condition, NUTZ takes an aggressive stance against the Trump administration, and while political themes are not out of the ordinary for these characters, being so vulgar about it is.
There is a shocking contrast in the essence of the piece which may be Barker’s way of stating that the world is in a much worse place than it was in the golden years of the comic strip, but the balance is wanting. Perhaps the best example of this dichotomy is the title they regularly use to address the Trump supporters: “Nazi Blockheads.” The phrase puts an aversive word right next to a family-friendly insult creating an odd verbal whiplash. The ability for the arts to promote social change and contemplation is crucial, and I appreciate this intention behind NUTZ, but taking characters who have taught millions of children vital lessons with a gentle hand and having them firmly oppose one political stance profanely seems counterproductive, regardless of the intention behind it.
NUTZ gives a fairly believable glimpse into the adult lives of some of the most beloved cartoon characters to ever grace the page and screen. It offers something thought-provoking, and provides so much nostalgia for fans of the comic that it would be difficult not to laugh along. It is perhaps for these reasons NUTZ won the People’s Preference Award at this year’s festival, given to the show that was voted as most popular by the audience. Even if I have my reservations about it, I was charmed by the nostalgia, and Barker’s clever writing had me laughing along the entire show. NUTZ pays a lovely tribute to its source material, while not being too precious about the characters’ reputations, and letting them be a little vulgar now that they are all grown up.
A Comedy of Caller Display: I’ll Call You Back
The final play in the festival features a cast of four seated in a line across the stage, each of them on their respective phone at different moments throughout the show talking to one another. Danny (Matthew Kane) is calling his grandmother, Clara (Lynn Kerr), for advice on proposing to his girlfriend, Kendra (Lisa Murphy). In jumping between calls from Clara and Kendra, chaos ensues for Danny, who has a series of misunderstandings from ending calls early. Clara also gets up to her own misadventures in dialing the wrong number to rope a total stranger named Ed (James Gow) into the whole cacophony of chaotic calls.
I want to begin by acknowledging that the premise of four people sitting talking on their phones is a difficult one to make exciting on the stage; the actors are far enough away in a theatre that the subtleties of their facial expressions which may read as amusing in film or in a smaller space are rendered illegible to a majority of the audience. This is a disadvantage that is inherent in the script’s very idea, and so there were portions of the play where I contemplated whether or not stage was the correct medium for the show. However, these moments were brief thanks to delightful performances from the cast as well as the heartwarming and humorous writing.
Gow’s performance was an instant personal favourite in his role of the misdialed stranger who is kind enough to listen to the ramblings of Clara. When speaking on the phone, his tone is warm and kind with just a hint of bother indicating that he was happy to listen although busy. As the calls continue coming in for him, the character messes with Clara in small ways that receive laughs without ever detracting from his charm. While calling he was also given things to do, such as repairing a picture frame which gave him opportunity for small comedic gestures as he encountered mishaps with glue.
Another highlight was Kerr’s endearing performance as the grandmother, seemingly at the centre of it all. Near the beginning of the show she notes that she is trying to be more cautious not to give away social information over the phone after being warned by the news, so for the rest of the play Kerr delivers hilarious, believable, and charming callbacks to that initial introduction with every new phone call that begins. It is especially amusing how terrible Clara is at keeping her information safe, as Kerr fosters such a friendly and trusting dynamic with the stranger on the other end of the line. She also is given the opportunity for small physical gags and thrives in them, she exits the stage on multiple occasions in a quick shuffle, and usually reenters with some small but entertaining change to her wardrobe which never fails to prompt a chuckle from the audience.
Although the opportunity for these physical gags (or movement in general) is limited, Winslow’s script is sharp and endearing throughout. The most powerful tool in her arsenal is potent dramatic irony. So many times throughout the script, phone calls end on a note which would seem alarming to the characters in the play, but creates a farcical comedy for those of us watching. I’ll Call You Back was a wonderfully charming way to close out the 2025 festival with relatable laughs.
‘NUTZ’ and ‘I’ll Call You Back’ were presented by Domino Theatre as a part of the Come Play By The Lake One-Act Festival on July 5, 2025.
