Television appearances include Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, The Brokenwood Mysteries, anthology series Taonga, Interrogation, Hope and Wire, Head High, and Find Me a Māori Bride.
[3][4] McDowell's directorial debut was with Taki Rua Theatre, with a production of Briar Grace-Smith's Nga Pou Wahine, which played in Auckland, Whangarei and Kaitaia in 2015.
[10] Cellfish, about a woman teaching Shakespeare in a men's correctional facility, opened the Auckland Arts Festival in 2017, and was nominated for a 2017 Adam New Zealand Play Award.
[13] The Pasifika-infused production featured Semu Filipo and Jacque Drew as Benedick and Beatrice and was set on a banana plantation with Dogberry and Verges functioning as customs officers in charge of ensuring no illegal or dangerous produce entered the island.
[14][15] McDowell directed an all-woman production of Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm at the Pop-up Globe in Auckland in March 2020.
"[17] The play would have toured but restrictions on gatherings over 100 people due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand in March 2020 caused the cancellation of remaining performances.
[13] McDowell co-starred with Bree Peters in Sam Brooks' political thriller Burn Her, which played to sold-out audiences at Q Theatre in August 2018.
Sing to Me opened at Te Whaea Theatre in Wellington in February, and toured Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin.