Dogshow Divas bring humor to Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — Even off-stage, Filipino comedians Macoy Averilla (known as Macoy Dubs) and Baus Rufo already began amusing their Cebu fans with their spiel before starting their Valentine show on February 14: “It’s giving dried mangoes. It’s giving lechon. It’s giving out-of-town show. It’s giving whale shark.”

Since their podcast’s premiere in September last year, the hosts of “Dogshow Divas” have captured the nation with their offbeat humor referencing pop culture, society and politics — and in many cases, everything in between.

With the hosts exchanging banter, their irreverent, sometimes nonsensical, comedic approach is what Filipinos — whether chronically online or not — needed at a time when the political climate can feel too serious and grim to handle. Not necessarily to provide escapism, but to process current events in a lighthearted manner.

Their nearly hour-and-a-half, no-recording-allowed show at Ayala Central Bloc was everything fans of “Dogshow Divas” hoped it would be, from light roasting of the audience to hilarious skits. It’s truly giving a very special episode of a successful variety show going on the road to interact with fans.

Immediately noticeable was the red curtain barricade set up at the mall’s activity center, which made the event feel exclusive. To secure a ticket, attendees had to present a maximum of three receipts totaling P5,000 in mall purchases from Feb. 1 up to the show date. The hosts jokingly said their audience must have been rich to get passes on such short notice.

The show was split into two parts, beginning with Averilla and Rufo delivering a mini drag performance that included staging their own Sexbomb Girls-inspired number. It suddenly turned into a ritual initiation when they donned red riding hoods and asked the audience to chant the iconic girl group’s lyrics as if they were summoning spells.

After they de-dragged, they kept the ball rolling with a skit framed as a live taping of the podcast — this time with audience interaction.

They engaged several attendees, including a family doctor whom they asked to choose his favorite family (the Addams Family or the Toro family), a computer science student racing to finish a thesis due Wednesday, and a girl who was eating flavored French fries during the show (a few of which the hosts happily munched on). From there, they spun a hilarious retelling of Cebu’s history using the names and the backgrounds of the audience members they had interacted with.

They also tackled the clash between millennials and Gen Z in the workplace, with the millennial hosts lightly roasting their Gen Z audience.

The second act opened with a contest between two teachers in drag: Rufo as a science teacher and Averilla as a math teacher, demonstrating STEM: “Seducing the Elusive Man.”

Rufo’s character explained Newton’s laws of motion to illustrate how one lands a dream man, ending with chemistry leading to “biology.” Meanwhile, Averilla’s character introduced PEMDAS to showcase that there is a mathematical equation to becoming appealing to a man.

The show ended with a spelling bee segment called “Wicked for Gyud,” featuring five audience members who spelled out words such as “situationship,” “sapiosexual,” “fingering,” “baked,” “versatile,” “youngstunna”, “impeachify”, and “curmudgeon.”

Some words came with humorous definitions referencing gossip items, including a former president’s “baked” daughter and a “versatile” Kapamilya actor who is a “good friend” with an older actor.

Cebu drag queen Stormi Lava served as both the opening and intermission act. Her latter performance of “Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas” featured a montage of Philippine landmarks — with Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco appearing in some clips, referencing the recent issue over her face being plastered on promotional materials.

Averilla and Rufo are masters of improvisation, a skill made apparent in their show and in the viral clips widely shared online. But it was their spontaneous banter with the audience that best showcased their talent. Then again, many in attendance were likely not surprised, having seen their recent episode with Miss Philippines Earth 2025 Joy Barcoma, which highlighted their effortless improvisational prowess.

 Before their Cebu show, Rufo expressed his gratitude for the support they have received, which included staging their first live comedy variety show in Cebu.

“The show is already sold out, and people are still asking for more slots to open,” Rufo wrote on his Facebook post the day before the show. “It’s our biggest show yet, and I can’t help but feel sentimental.”

“As someone who’s been doing improv and stand-up comedy for seven years, ugang-uga ako. Ang sarap mangarap. Ang sarap trabahuhin ng pangarap,” he added.

“We are nervous, excited, but also incredibly grateful for what’s gonna happen tomorrow. Thank you lord lang talaga.”