By Kenny Neal
With roots reaching back to 16th-century Italian Commedia dell’arte street theater, the puppet characters of Punch and Judy presented underclass social commentary that amused 17th-century audiences with comic violence and satirical rule-breaking.
Mel Carter’s B*tch Eat Dog, with its miniature proscenium-theater set and live music and sound-effects accompaniment (provided by Camille Charlier), evokes the charming aesthetic of its satirical puppet progenitors, but this time the social commentary is even more darkly subversive and shocking, to incredible comic effect.
Through a series of unconnected vignettes, Carter and fellow puppeteer Anthony Selitto-Budney skewer a roster of social norms: gender-based power dynamics, female sexual desire, patriarchal oppression, performative feminism, tradwives, TERFs, consent, white woman tears, and the dire lack of racial intersectionality in the suffragette movement. That’s a lot of important ground to cover, and they do so with razor-sharp humor and DIY creative artistry.
Hand puppets, rod puppets, Japanese bunraku-inspired puppets, shadow puppets, sex toys with googly eyes — all these and more are employed to present the sketches. A force of nature character introduced early in the show makes a few scene-ending appearances throughout, much like Monty Python’s deus ex machina 16-ton weight. At one point, Carter dons a full-body puppet costume (which seems to be inspired equally by a scarecrow, a nursing cow, and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) for an audience participation moment that will leave you thankful you sat in a back row.
Between the sketches, linking material has a hapless but well-meaning male host repeatedly try to prove he’s worthy of being a part of the evening’s events in an attempt to win the approval of a pair of Statler and Waldorf-style shit-talking oysters (trust me, it all makes perfect sense). This leads to a climax that I won’t spoil, but suffice to say, the splash zone warning is accurate in ways you will not anticipate (if you’ve seen the show, the object in question landed in the seat next to me).
In addition to the puppetry, Carter, Selitto-Budney, and Charlier are also fantastically expressive and engaging performers, with singing, over-the-top facial expressions, clear character creation, and movement from Carter and Selitto-Budney and a delightful use of live multi-instrumental music and Foley sound effects from Charlier. The venue’s black box seating makes a few of the gags difficult to see fully, but most of the action is thankfully kept above the audience’s heads. During the performance I attended, there were large air conditioning units running in the room — a necessity for sure, but unfortunately they tended to overwhelm the sound in quieter moments.
Carter’s program notes describe in detail how B*tch Eat Dog was inspired by real-life trauma and self-discovery, and how the satire is meant to speak to real issues around what society tells us who and how we should be. It does this incredibly well, not only through humor and artistry, but through insight and joyous sincerity.
Five stars out of five. Best of Fringe. Absolutely do not miss it.
B*tch Eat Dog
By Mel Carter
Running Time: 90 minutes
Dates and Times:
- Wednesday, July 15, 5:30 PM
- Thursday, July 16, 5:30 PM (masks required)
- Friday, July 17, 7:30 PM
- Saturday, July 18, 2:00 PM
- Sunday, July 19, 2:00 PM
Venue: Phoenix – UDC Mainstage Venue
Tickets: $15
More Info and Tickets
Genre: Comedy
Company based: Connecticut
Website: https://www.makemelissacarter.com/bitcheatdog
Directed by: Mel Carter
Performed by: Mel Carter, Camille Charlier, Anthony Sellitto-Budney
The complete 2026 District Fringe Festival lineup is online here.
The 2026 District Fringe Festival calendar is online here.
