Photo – Mihaela Bodlovic and Niall Walker
This year’s Melbourne Festival line up is an eclectic mix of dance, theatre, circus, absurdism, and cabaret. Cora Bisset, in What Girls are Made Of continues the theme of polished, personal and punchy performances with her autobiographical account of the trials and tribulations of the music industry.
Innocently responding to a newspaper advertisement “Singer Wanted”, the teenage Bisset is thrust onto the international stage with Scottish Indie band Darlingheart. While the band themselves had a few minor hits and limited success, their tours with the likes of Blur and Radiohead had a huge effect on Bisset’s development.
Realising how easy it is to be caught up in the whirlwind of gig life and having to deal with the dodgy managers and distant record labels, Bisset and the band aren’t long for the 90s rock music scene.
Joined onstage by a live band featuring Emma Smith, Harry Ward and Simon Donaldson, who also double as Bisset’s parents, school friends and bandmates, the sensitivity of the actors added to the deeply personal story of Bisset’s transformation from little girl lost, to power woman and mother.
A deeply engaging performer, Bisset has a powerhouse voice and stand out stage presence. It’s easy to see why she was so successful early on her career and why audiences continue to delight in her enigmatic storytelling and killer voice.
What Girls Are Made Of is a celebration of girl power, of music, motherhood, love and despair. Through all of these factors Bisset tells her story with humour, grace and so much sass. Get down and find out for yourself what girls are made of.
2019 Melbourne International Arts Festival
What Girls Are Made Of
by Cora Bisset
Director Orla O'Loughlin
Venue: The Famous Spiegeltent | Arts Centre Melbourne Forecourt 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Dates: 2 – 13 October 2019
Tickets: $59
Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
