WHAT I’M INTO

Courtney Dawson’s show Dreams Are Free is on 7-11 May at Auckland’s Basement Theatre and 14-18 May at Wellington’s Bats Theatre

MY BEST BINGE-WATCH

I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve been watching Inventing Anna. I got scammed by a fake therapist a few months ago and, yes, I did miss the $300, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking, “Well played, sir, well played.” Luckily, I did find a real therapist eventually and will be processing the situation live in my show.

MY TOP BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Major Labels by Kelefah Sanneh.

He’s a New York Times music critic and I bought the book after hearing an interview he did on Search Engine called “How do I find new music now I’m old and irrelevant?”, which was right up my alley.

MY TOP PODCAST

It’s hard to pick just one, but I’m working my way through the back catalogue of Throughline from NPR. It gives historical context for big ideas and events happening now, which serves my appetite for current events and history, as well as my obnoxious habit of regurgitating half-remembered facts at any given moment.

MY MUSIC OBSESSION

Karma by SiR and Issiah Rashad. I’m a bit of a sluzzy when it comes to my music taste, but I’m a classic brown millennial whose heart will always be with hip-hop and R&B.

MY MOST-USED APP

Generally, I categorically refuse to look at my screen time, but for the purposes of this exercise, I made an exception. I’m horrified to report that I spent 12 hours playing Tetris last week, so please excuse me while I throw my phone in the ocean and take a long, hard look in the mirror.

LAST FILM I LOVED

I rewatched Twister for the first time in a decade because I was in this incredible show called Live Reel at Basement Theatre, where five actors performed a live version of it. I was shocked when everyone was saying what a terrible movie it was... Are you serious? Natural disasters? Car chases? Helen Hunt? Hello!

MY FAVOURITE COMEDIAN

Katt Williams is the GOAT to me. Again, I love a bit of nostalgia and Katt’s stand-up reminds me of those sweet days where I’d watch stand-up for fun without dissecting every setup and punchline. As well as being a stoned teenager watching every Friday movie back-to-back.