The future seems dark. The impression of a multi-level political, social, ecological, and humanitarian catastrophe causes a sense of helplessness and fear. Cities lying in ashes, war rubble, flooded and dried-up terrains have become the landscapes of our thinking. They are echoing predictions and warnings that were ignored.
In ancient Troy, it was the fate of prophetess Cassandra to foresee sinister images of the future but to find her warnings unheeded. Today the voices of entire social groups are faded out by a similar ignorance, while at the same time, a proliferation of self-proclaimed Cassandras wields power over nations and people with apocalyptic forecasts. Polish theater director and author Marta Górnicka is not looking for prophecies of doom; instead, she sets out to find actual Cassandras of our time. Unheard voices. Voices under attack. Voices without a lobby. She brings together a group of people spanning different generations, languages, abilities, and lived experiences – among them the youngest and the oldest female rappers of Berlin, children, teens, and many, many more. Forming a Cassandra choir these contemporary voices write a revisited, multi-voiced story of Cassandra. Together they examine what we, as a society, tend to remove from our field of vision, what lies ahead of us and before our very eyes, what remains unheard inside of us, what separates us from each other, and what we have in common. And they sing a powerful song.
»Cassandra syndrome, the experience of having one's legitimate concerns disbelieved and rejected, leading to psychological distress and suffering, seems to me a shared experience and a condition of our time. Every day, entire communities are confronted with ignorance and silencing. To me, their vulnerable voices are like the song of canaries in a coal mine. With the CASSANDRA CHORUS, I bring these voices to the stage to sing a song of empowerment together. As long as the canaries continue to sing, we are alive.« – Marta Górnicka
