When Courtney Dawson (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Amaru) thinks about her career, she says she dropped into it ‘out of nowhere’.
The comedian, who sky-rocketed into the public image through shows like Celebrity Treasure Island, Have You Been Paying Attention and Paddy Gower Has Issues, began her adult life becoming a mum at the age of 20, juggling motherhood with working at a clothing store.
She did some stand-up comedy gigs with her dad, Heta Dawson, before winning the NZ Raw Comedy Quest and Best Newcomer Award in 2019, and embarking on a sold-out tour with her father, titled Half and Hawhe, in 2021.
“My dad has been really influential in making me stick with [comedy]... Our relationship has blossomed from us both doing comedy because we can both talk about our sets, about how different gigs went, all the gossip in the industry,” she tells Stuff.
While comedy will never be a full-time job for Heta, who sees it as more of a hobby, he continues to support his daughter in her growing career.
Some things haven’t changed: as Dawson rises through the ranks of Aotearoa’s comedy scene, she’s still juggling that with being a mum.
“My son is 15 now, and part of the thing about having a teenager is that they do need more freedom, but you also need to [have] eagle eyes on them as well at all times,” she says.
“Sometimes, I’ll get a text when I’m at a gig at like 10 o’clock like ‘Mum I don’t have my uniform for tomorrow, it’s at Dad’s house’. [And I’m] like... ‘My brother, this is my job’.
“But for the most part, I think this year I’m really nailing it.”
Dawson was a last-minute addition to Celebrity Treasure Island, and in late 2023, following the show, joined Newshub’s Paddy Gower Has Issues alongside Eli Matthewson and Karen O’Leary.
That gig’s now coming to an end, with the announcement by parent company Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) that Newshub will cease operations on July 5.
“I’m so gutted for our democracy and for the people, for all the journalists, who worked so tirelessly there, and obviously all the crew, and everyone. It’s such a major kick to our country as a whole,” says Dawson, referring to Newshub’s imminent closure. (A partnership has since been announced that will see Stuff produce a 6pm bulletin for WBD from July 6.)
“But I was saying to some of the other comedians, at least we have other jobs that we can do. We can go on, we can go and do a $100 gig down the road, or go on a tour.”
Dawson jokes: “I don’t want to see bloody Mike McRoberts at the next open mic. There’s not enough room for you, Mike, we’re already overcrowded.”
Speaking of other jobs, Dawson has also helped revive the 90s, working as an agony aunt (remember those?) for Radio New Zealand.
She produces a segment for RNZ Nights, once a month, to answer listener questions.
“It’s such a blessing to give advice that’s honestly sometimes bad. But also, I’m a 90s chicky... And I can remember reading those little columns like in the Dolly magazine and Girlfriend magazine, so it feels like such a throwback to be able to do it,” Dawson says.
“But I look forward to it... One time it was like ‘I found out that my boyfriend was cheating on me in the first three months of our relationship, but now we’ve been together for five years and we’re moving countries. Should I bring it up?’
“I really appreciate the time that people take to write these questions. It’s awesome.”
Dawson says the new generation of brown comedians coming through, via traditional stand-up and also on social media like TikTok and Instagram, will “change the industry”.
“When we have more Māori comedians and we’re making more spaces for Māori audiences to come in with their own jokes... The freedom of being able to tell a joke and not having to explain the context is massive,” she says.
“There’s some incredible Māori comedians coming up: Joel McCarthy, Kura Turuwhenua, Bailey Poching... People are loving it, me and Kura just went over to Melbourne, and performed in front of all of these brown people, and it was so much fun.”
So where to from here? Dawson wants to improve her craft, although some days are still a scramble to pull a show together.
“It’s taken 35 years to get to this level of functional procrastination that I’ve got going on right now. Sometimes it is the night before, sometimes it’s just before I go on stage. Not the whole set, but sometimes you’ll be inspired and need to write something down,” she says.
“It’s something that I definitely have to train myself to be more consistent with, because it feels like schoolwork and I haven’t been to school in 20 years.
“The writing process for me is jotting little ideas down then sitting down at a computer, writing it out, reading it back and thinking this is the most unfunny piece of writing I have ever imagined, and then try to say it on stage.”
“And for me, the writing part is really harrowing but I write best when I’m saying it, so often it is just me walking around my apartment talking to myself like a crazy person.”
For Dawson, it’s “a real buzz-up” being a comedian, after she dropped into the career path by surprise.
“I want to be the absolute best I can be as a stand-up. I really love the TV stuff, I really love getting paid money, and I do want to get better at acting.”
Stand-up, though, will always be her number one passion.
“I just always want to be getting better at that, better at telling jokes.”
Courtney Dawson will perform her Dreams Are Free show in Auckland May 7-11 and Wellington May 14-18 as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival. Tickets and information at comedyfestival.co.nz.