‘Beautiful puppetry, but feels tastelessly strung along.’
TW: Mentions of heavy themes such as Sexual Assault
‘B*tch Eat Dog’ comes to the Edinburgh Fringe from American puppeteer and theatre creative Mel Carter. The show aims to highlight issues affecting women through satirical comedy, showcasing various puppeteering comedic sketches that all correlate to the overall backdrop of societal expectations on femininity. However, while the puppets themselves were incredibly well-designed, and the puppeteers brought them to life with impeccably committed energy, the premise of this production was unfortunately quick to get lost in its chaos instead of demonstrating an effective satirical approach to storytelling theatre. Although its intention is absurdist and anarchical in nature, it instead becomes haphazard without purpose.
Upon entering, you are given waterproof ponchos as there will be “projectiles” present during the show, inciting feelings of wonder, dread and excitement all at once. The set emulates a Punch and Judy-esque stage box, and a distorted, intentionally off-tune soundscape hones in on that unsettling atmosphere and effectively aids the satirical absurdism that you think you are about to witness. However, although the energy in the beginning is admirable, the writing becomes progressively more lost as the skits start to unfold.
For a satirical performance, the jokes did not feel well-crafted and witty, instead falling short and leaving the room without much laughter. For an intended adult audience, the writing felt almost juvenile. This was unfortunate to witness, as the concept of puppets portraying adult themes through a satirical lens sounded deeply enticing. One tried to keep an open mind and wanted very much to like what was being presented, as this reviewer enjoys other satirical media such as Fleabag, Cabaret etc that effectively utilise shock value for a greater narrative; but ‘B*tch Eat Dog’ felt like it was serving up shock value without a statement, coming across as arguably tasteless and even tone-deaf at times. The heavier themes (such as sexual assault), did not feel handled with care, and the comedic backing that was meant to support these themes failed to serve a message or even get a laugh.
The discomfort that was evident in the audience further supports one’s belief that the shock value did not evoke the idea of a broader message; the show’s satirical and absurdist nature did not unsettle the audience in a way that was positively boundary-pushing, but instead portrayed real women’s issues in a way that felt awkward and difficult to sit through.
For this production, the writers could greatly benefit from going back to the drawing board to craft a script which does the stunning puppetry justice. In order to do this, it may be worthwhile to cut down the number of skits so that the message of women’s issues does not feel lost, which could allow for the quality of skits to be improved and properly developed instead of feeling haphazard and rushed. In this case, the heavy issues associated with societal expectations of modern women could be tackled with more tastefulness whilst still being comedically absurd.
While the show did not come across as overtly offensive and is promising in some places, it overall felt weak and disappointing, and the more tough-to-watch segments did not feel like they had much that could be taken away from them. Theatre is subjective, and Carter’s motive to create a play that tackles feminine-based prejudice is admirable, but this play feels like it needs a lot of further development to become effective and meaningful satire.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Tickets available here: https://www.edfringe.com/
Venue: Greenside @ George Street (Jade Studio)
Dates: 7th (excluding 16th and 23rd) until the 29th August
Time: 22:00 – 22:50
Ticket prices: £16.50 / Concessions £13.50
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Suitable for 18+ (Guideline)