The Last Cassandra is a 12-month music & participatory R&D project led by autistic pianist, singer, songwriter & composer Jenny Lascelles. Jenny will create an EP blending piano, voice, synth & industrial textures, develop an accessible live show through 2 test performances, explore the music through a Dolby Atmos listening event & pilot 4 trauma-informed creative sessions for women, gender-diverse & ND artists.

‘At Cassandra’s shout, no man or woman was left unaffected.’

-The Iliad, Homer tr. Ian Johnston

In ancient Greek mythology, Cassandra was a Trojan princess or high priestess cursed by the god Apollo for rejecting his sexual advances. She could predict the future but would never be able to persuade those around her that her prophecies were real. She foresaw the fall of Troy but was ridiculed as a ‘mad woman’, ultimately leading to her ostracisement and death.

In today’s society the ‘Cassandra complex’ has come to be a metaphor for people whose valid warnings or concerns are disbelieved by those around them - from scientists who predict the eruption of a volcano but cannot save the city to those voices that too often go unheard in daily life: among them women, gender-diverse, disabled & neurodivergent people.

At a time when it’s easy to feel a sense of apathy and disconnection, this project asks the question:

‘What would a modern-day Cassandra try to tell us?’

‘Is there nowhere another Cassandra on the top of a hill, looking down at a town engulfed in the depths of Nature? But what does it matter to me? What could I possibly tell her?

-Nausea, Jean-Paul Sartre

Music examples

The Last Cassandra - early demos

This reel contains examples of 3x early demo ideas for The Last Cassandra:

  1. Now is the time of monsters

  2. You’d be so good in an apocalypse

  3. Body heat

Jenny Lascelles - previous work

This reel contains examples of 3x previous works released as Jenny Lascelles:

  1. Dying 2 get 2 u (2021)

  2. She’s a peach (2021)

  3. Backbone (2017)

‘What the ancient Greeks called Cassandra behaviour today’s social scientists sometimes refer to as sentinel intelligence or sentinel behaviour, the ability to detect danger from warning signs before others see it.’

-Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes, Richard A. Clarke & R.P. Eddy

‘…deceit and violence are counterbalanced by the insight and courage of Cassandra…’

-Crossing the Wine Dark Sea, Emily Wilson