You enter a dimly lit bar. Hold on, is that award-winning comedian Melanie Bracewell? She gestures for you to sit down. She orders you the finest cocktail on the menu (under $20). You get talking, drinking and laughing the night away. It’s an unforgettable evening. Have you made a new best friend? That’s what this comedy show will feel like. (Cocktails not included).

We spoke to Melanie (Cheap Seats, Have You Been Paying Attention?) about her new show Ooh La La, the joys of being just a little bit fancy and her uncanny resemblance to Jacinda Ardern.

Tell us about your latest show, Ooh La La.
It was one of things where you have to name the show really far in advance. We were in the glory era of the pandemic where we thought we were seeing the back of it. And I thought, well, this next year I’m going to be out to events, I’ll be having the time of my life… and then it just dragged on a little bit longer. So, I had to try and find the fancy things, when your life isn’t that fancy.

How did you bring a bit of fancy into lockdown life?
It was the really little things. You buy a new phone case. Right, that’s fixed. You just try and fix the problems in your life one by one. It was almost like giving yourself a little bit of an endorphin hit, you know?
I was still sharing content and tried the [TikTok] makeup trend where you doll yourself up. I did that and people commented that when I had makeup on I kind of looked like Jacinda Ardern. I thought, right, I’ll take that and and attempt to look like Jacinda but I didn’t expect it to be good, I guess.
When she won the election in 2017, I went out to do a gig and I wore a jacket and I put some red lipstick on. Some random guy said “oh my God, Jacinda! Congratulations!” I don’t know if he was joking or not, but there’s no way after winning an election, you go down to the comedy club. It was something people had told me a few times and in lockdown, when what had felt like infinite time, I thought maybe I’ll give this a go.

You’re performing at the Speigeltent in Wollongong, have you performed there before?
No. I didn’t know what a Speigeltent was until I went to Christchurch during a buskers’ festival and saw a circus show in a Speigeltent. It was really cool, it feels a lot fancier than performing at the back of a bar or the little theatres that I tend to perform at. Again, that fanciness!

Where is the fanciest place you’ve performed?
I once did comedy before a Norah Jones concert, that’s the fanciest gig I’ve ever done. It was very odd. I talk about it a little bit in the show. It was at the TSB Arena in Wellington – a concert venue. It was massive, there were thousands of people – yeah, that was wild.

What do you like about performing in regional areas?
It’s really cool to go to small places because I think people are excited to be there as well. It’s not like every single artist or every single comedian would come to those places. It’s also an opportunity to travel and explore – before I started comedy, I hadn’t travelled much. So, it’s cool to be able to do that.

Who inspired you to get into comedy? Was comedy always your plan?
It definitely wasn’t the plan. It probably wasn’t even plan when I started doing it. I thought it might be a hobby or a bit of fun, I didn’t think I would make a career out of it. I think if you do one gig of comedy and you think you make a career out of it, you’re probably not good for comedy – because you don’t have a grasp on the world!
I use to run a blog on Tumblr when I was in school and I tried to be funny on that. Then I entered a comedy competition when I was 19 and I was able to do the jokes I had already written over the course of like five years. I felt like it went well and I decided I’ll keep doing this until I stop enjoying it. And then I never stopped enjoying it – so it’s been amazing.

You’ve written scripts for TV shows and worked with some amazing people to date (Jemaine Clements, Taika Waititi). Is there anyone that you would love to work with?
I’ve really love the writing side of things, and working on Wellington Paranormal was my dream. It was very exciting because I was such a massive fan of Flight of the Conchords. To work with Jemaine felt crazy and unreal.
I love watching a lot of shows and I think Succession is probably my favourite show ever. Succession’s writer Jesse Armstrong was one of the creators of The Peep Show. He’s English, and when I realised that it made so much more sense and why Succession is so cleverly done. I love American comedy, but a lot of it kind of hits you over to head and it’s not very subtle, but Succession had so many subtle jokes. He’s a genius. Working with someone like him would be really cool.

Tell us about your experience working with comedy legends Working Dog (The Late Show, The Castle, Utopia, Have You Been Paying Attention)
I became almost a retroactive fan of them, as in New Zealand I genuinely had never heard of Working Dog. I had seen some things that they had done, but I wouldn’t have thought to connect the production company to the show Thank God You’re Here [then on television in New Zealand].
When I went on Have You Been Paying Attention, they had such a massive fan base and people said “oh my gosh, you’re working with [Working Dog]. That’s really cool.” And then Cheap Seats came around and I watched a whole bunch of episodes from The Late Show. It was so funny and unique. I had that fan girl moment, but I’d already worked with them. I had that with comedians when I was watching them growing up, like Monty Python. I think if I saw any of those guys I would lose my mind.

You’re hosting Cheap Seats with comedian Tim McDonald, how did that come about?
It’s interesting because Tim and I, we had only met a few times. The times that we were both on Have You Been Paying Attention was when we were doing it remotely. I was in New Zealand, he was in Australia. And with the slight

delay, there wasn’t quite the banter opportunity.
The show was pitched before we really knew each other at all. We did a pilot and that was the longest conversation we’d ever had. He’s very good and can really just run with something. We laugh at each other and ourselves – I guess it’s luck that we worked so well together. He’s very, very talented. And he was the social media guy for Working Dog for a while and now he’s hosting a show – it’s such a wild climb!

Other than touring the show, what else is coming up for you this year?
I’m working on a very cool show but I can’t say anything about that just yet! [laughs] I’ll be writing and touring, and Cheap Seats. And just emerging out our hole into a changed world… hopefully!

Lastly, what is your pre-show routine?
I definitely like have a drink on stage because I think it makes it feel the show feel more conversational. That’s always my goal, for people to feel like they’ve left the show like they’ve been talking with a friend.
Before I walk out on the stage, I’m trying to remember my jokes. I know that I will remember them all, but you always just have that fear. I also play Candy Crush – it’s almost calming. It’s almost mindless, so it helps me to reset and not freak out… maybe!

Catch Melanie Bracewell touring Ooh La La or every week on The Cheap Seats, Channel 10.