Cora Bissett (born 1974) is a Scottish theatre director, playwright, actor and musician. As a director she has created ''Amada'', ''Roadkill'', ''Grit: The Martyn Bennett Story'', ''Glasgow Girls'' and ''Room''. As an actor she had regular appearances in the television programmes ''

Rab C. Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character ...

'' and ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

''. She is an associate director at the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

Early life

Bissett was born in

Glenrothes Glenrothes (; , ; sco, Glenrothes; gd, Gleann Rathais) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south of Dundee. The town had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making i ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland. She was the lead singer in the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band ''Darlingheart'' who released one album in 1993 before splitting up. The band received favourable write-ups with the Scottish music press making Bissett a cover star. Her time in the band was the inspiration for her autobiographical play, ''What Girls Are Made Of'', which debuted at the 2018

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. In 1995 she was the singer in the band, ''Swelling Meg'', a three-piece "comprising acoustic guitar, bowed double-bass and Bissett's athletic voice". They performed at that year's

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

festival. Between 1993 and 1997 she attended the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

(RSAMD) where she studied theatre, graduating with a BA in Dramatic Studies.

Directing career

Productions include:

Amada

In 2007, she devised ''Amada'' with three actors. It was an adaptation of an

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

short story about a woman whose personality changes as a result of an accident. Bissett was the joint winner of the 2007 Arches Award for new directors for ''Amada''.

Roadkill

''Roadkill'', was a 2010

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

show devised by Bissett and Stef Smith about sex trafficking. The performance at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

won an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

in 2012.

Glasgow Girls

In 2011 she conceived the musical ''Glasgow Girls'' with book by David Greig about a group of activists who took up an ethical fight against the deportation of asylum seekers who had settled in Scotland. In 2013 the show was shortlisted for best musical production at the UK Theatre Awards.

Whatever Gets You Through The Night

In 2012 she collaborated with David Greig, Swimmer One and other artists to create ''Whatever gets you through the night'' at The Arches.

Janis Joplin: Full Tilt

In 2013 she directed Peter Arnott's short play about ''

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

''.

Grit: The Martyn Bennett Story

''Grit: The Martyn Bennett Story'' was created by as part of the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

cultural programme. After being conceived by Bissett, it was written by playwright Kieran Hurley. Bissett directed the show, having worked in close collaboration with Bennett's friends and family to create the show. It premiered at the Tramway in Glasgow in May 2014, then was performed in Mull. It was named event of the year at the 2014

Scots Trad Music Awards The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and ...

Room

In addition to directing, Bissett co-wrote the music for a stage version of

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her 2010 novel ''Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donoghue's 1995 novel ''Hood'' w ...

's book ''Room'', with

Kathryn Joseph Kathryn Joseph (born Kathryn Emma Sawers) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. Her debut album ''Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I've Spilled'' won the 2015 Scottish Album of the Year Award. In 2016, Joseph appeared on RM Hubbert's c ...

. which was produced by

and Dublin's

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

, in association with

and Covent Garden Productions.

National Theatre of Scotland

In 2014 she became a part-time associate director at the

(NTS). In 2022, she directed ''Orphans,'' a stage adaptation of the 1998 cult film of the same name. Gagarin Way Bissett directed

Gregory Burke Gregory Burke (born 1968) is a Scottish playwright and screenwriter from Rosyth, Fife. Early life and education Burke's family moved to Gibraltar in 1979 and returned to Dunfermline in 1984. He attended St John's Primary in Rosyth, St Christo ...

’s ''Gagarin Way'' for

Dundee Rep Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house ...

in 2018.

Acting career

In 2009 Bissett won the Best Actress at

Stage Awards for Acting Excellence The ''Stage'' Awards for Acting Excellence are a set of Scottish theatre awards which were established in 1995 to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Organised by the theatric ...

. Bissett appeared regularly in the comedy series

, as a barmaid. She appeared in

. She also appeared in the 2006 film

Red Road Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissett, Cora Living people 20th-century Scottish women singers Scottish singer-songwriters Scottish stage actresses Scottish television actresses 21st-century Scottish actresses Scottish theatre directors British theatre directors Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 1974 births