What Girls Are Made Of tells the true story of Cora Bissett, her band Darlingheart and her huge fall from grace after finding fame at the tender age of 17 and losing it again a few years later. For a girl from Fife, she didn’t do half bad, but it’s in the telling of this poignant and glorious story that she really excels.
It’s 1992. An ad in the local paper declares: Band Seeks Singer.
In a small town in Fife, a schoolgirl is catapulted into a rock star lifestyle.
Grunge has gone global, indie kids are inheriting the earth, and a schoolgirl from Glenrothes is catapulted to a rock star lifestyle as the singer in a hot new indie band. Touring with Radiohead, partying with Blur, she was living the dream. Until she wasn’t.
The set is simple, a drum kit, a few guitars and some amps; a sound decision which allows the music and storytelling to do its thing with little distraction from the surroundings. A drummer and two guitarists played by Susan Bear, Simon Donaldson and Harry Ward join Cora to play a myriad of parts on stage, but aside from that it’s all Cora. What Girls Are Made Of is Cora’s story, and hers alone – this is not a play, it’s a show; it’s noisy, raucous, honest and funny, and it’s clear that Cora is a born storyteller.
It’s not just the music we hear about over the course of the night, Cora also delves into her personal struggles from her parents getting sick to suffering miscarriages later in life, and thanks to Orla O’Loughlin’s beautiful direction, the pace never slows despite these heavier topics coming up.
With snippets of music from those who Darlingheart supported back in the day, as well as songs from the women who inspired Cora over the years What Girls Are Made Of is an energetic, emotional and feel-good piece of theatre that is not to be missed (even if you were only born in 1992 when the band got their big break)!
Playing at The MAC until 5th April, you can find more information or book tickets here.
