For Bitches in Stitches, Comedy Can Be Brutal But Sensitive Too
Their fearless material has found its audience.
(SPOT.ph) Even first-timers at a stand-up show know that the best seats are farthest from the stage. If the current live comedy landscape is any indication, cishet male performers are sure to populate the line-up, some with their signature machismo and “my-wife-is-stupid” brand of misogyny. Anyone in their field of vision could easily be reduced to a painful punchline. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
But as soon as Fran Ayala-Rock took the mic and confessed she hadn’t shaved her pubic hair in four years, I had a feeling this one was going to be different. What followed was a two-and-a-half hour program filled with soliloquies and song numbers on everything from dominatrixes to divorce. A silicone breast implant may or may not have been thrown into the crowd. But for the record, no audience members were harmed in the making of the show. I definitely wish I got a better view.
This is regular fare for Bitches in Stitches: a stand-up comedy troupe that calls all women and queer talent to the front. Originally founded in Hong Kong back in 2021, Ayala-Rock started the team with the goal of staging an all-female comedy show. After joining stand-up to share her Tinder horror stories (#mood), she was exposed to greater terrors in the local scene, which has far fewer female comics than Hong Kong.
Once she moved back home, she met fellow comediennes Veronica Litton and Cristina Sebastian at the open mic circuit and decided to activate the Bitches brand in Manila with them. “There were similar problems here [in the Philippines], where male bookers would say that women just aren’t funny,” Ayala-Rock told SPOT.ph. But their loyal attendees beg to differ: since their founding in July 2024, BiS has organized four sold-out shows. Their first of the year, aptly entitled Femininomenon, was their most successful yet, featuring founding members of BiS Hong Kong and award-winning drag queen Pichi Keane.
Next gen comediennes
No two performers had the same theme or set of experiences, in line with the Bitches’ goal of representing everyone on the spectrum of femininity. “We want more performers on stage to show the world that there are different types of ways a female comedian can be – and that we’re all funny!” Ayala-Rock said. In the hopes of growing the next generation of comediennes, Ayala-Rock also conducts monthly online workshops. Joined by a collection of aspiring comics from all over the world, she breaks down each aspect of the art form, streams shows of standout female performers for inspiration, and provides on-the-spot writing exercises.
Giving and receiving feedback in this atmosphere of “mutual respect” is crucial to their craft. “When I think I’ve run out of things to say, my fellow comics will come up with something surprising and remind me that there’s comedy in just about everything,” Sebastian shared. “Finding comediennes who are your tribe, who share the same values that you do really goes a long way. I know that as long as we’re holding space together, nothing can break me,” Litton added. One time, a free-writing session among the three led to performing their jokes in an open mic the same night – something that wouldn’t have happened without a gentle push from one another.
The Bitches hope to channel that same camaraderie in each of their shows in a time when some of the scene’s most popular names sow seeds of division. Matt Rife was stripped of his ‘Internet boyfriend’ title after a series of domestic violence jokes in his Netflix special, Natural Selection, while Dave Chappelle had to cancel live shows after controversy over transphobic jokes. Rob Schneider was booted mid-set for politically charged problematic statements, and yet the Saturday Night Live alum wears it like a badge of honor.
When Litton, a lesbian-identifying trans woman, returned to the open mic circuit after a long break from comedy, she often stepped out for a smoke break because she couldn’t “stand being in the same room as certain performers.” “Bastions for ‘free speech’ sometimes use this right to disparage marginalized communities, under the guise of a joke. It’s about time we start to catch on because this isn’t what comedy is supposed to be about,” she told SPOT.
Bitches in Stitches sees a good laugh as an entry point for social critique: the equivalent of wrapping a pill in bacon and feeding it to your dog. All three are big believers that everything is material even in a conservative country like the Philippines. Some controversial topics they’ve covered include racism, reproductive health, and the trans experience. A joke about abortion once elicited audible oohs from the audience before everyone fell silent.
Sexy but sensitive
But while no topic is taboo for BiS, all agree that these conversation starters should be handled with intention and care. Sebastian’s entire Femininomenon set focused on her hypothetical death: a topic that the superstitious among us like to skirt around. But by painting a vivid image of her next of kin fighting over her assets on a children’s party ‘pabitin’, the inevitable reality becomes easier to process. “If you’re just doing something for the sake of being shocking or difficult or obscene, it’s like, ‘Ok great. You said that thing. But what were you trying to achieve with it?” Sebastian said. “If you’re tackling difficult topics, they have to allow for productive discussions after. That’s really smart comedy.”
Crafting sets that are both salacious and sensitive comes from a commitment to their audience, who see them as a source of refuge. “I look at [my place onstage] as a way for other trans women and trans folk who haven’t transitioned yet to see someone like them: to know that the trans experience isn’t all sadness, depression, and anger,” Litton said. “Granted there’s a lot of struggle, there’s just also so much about it that deserves to be celebrated.” True enough, her lines likening the male penis to sausages, her go-to greasy guilty pleasure, earned some of the loudest laughs in the room that night.
“When we perform comedy, we like to remember that at the end of the day, we’re still doing a service to people,” Ayala-Rock added. Of course, the whole showbiz component of it all seems glamorous. But at the end of the day, the Bitches believe that no one’s identity needs to be turned into a punchline just to make it happen. “We are there to entertain, to bring joy to everyone.”
Of course, they’re not immune to the occasional instance of naughty crowdwork. During her set, Ayala-Rock singled out the only cishet man brave enough to come to the show: “You’re straight? Wow, I was just hanging out with all my straight friend a while ago. Do you also have a podcast?” Cue the roaring crowd. “But there’s a way to make fun of the power balance or call out the gender inequality that exists today without necessarily punching down on someone’s identity,” Ayala-Rock said.
At the end of the day, the Bitches know that their ultimate ambition of changing the world through comedy is a bit lofty. But they won’t stop trying. “Through our jokes, we hope to show that the world is not all doom and gloom,” Sebastian said. “You can make positive steps towards change in the world. Or you know, you can just have a laugh. Both are good, both are good.”
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Catch Bitches in Stitches this March 9th for an International Women’s Month show at Annex House. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for more details.