Ginette McDonald has directed cop shows, produced kidult classics and won awards for her dramatic acting. Yet she has long been associated with a single role: Kiwi gal Lynn of Tawa. In this interview, she talks Lynn and more, including:
- Playing a French maid at Wellington's Downstage Theatre at age 14 — and how Lynn of Tawa made her first appearance soon after "to provide a social service"
- Helping John Clarke get his first movie role while they were both living in London — and pinching champagne and smoked salmon from Clarke's job as a deliveryman
- How Lynn of Tawa was at first deemed too common to perform at the Royal Variety Performance — and having the special feeling that she was "surfing the audience" that night
- How the character of Lynn "has paved the way for me to be a more authentic version of myself"
- Being told to lose roughly 15 kilograms to star in comedy series All Things Being Equal — and how her co-star Bruno Lawrence took LSD before the show
- The creativity and stress of producing part comic, part musical TV series Peppermint Twist
This interview was recorded for 2019 TV series
Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy.
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