Can the arts help people better understand mental illness? by The Royal Ballet and Opera

We speak to one of the creators of new ballet Cassandra, and to a consultant psychiatrist, about understanding and representing psychosis on stage.

In Cassandra rising choreographic star Ludovic Ondiviela joins forces with singer songwriter Ana Silvera. Inspired by Wislawa Szymborska's poetry on the Ancient Greek myth of Cassandra, they explore the complexity and ambiguities of how madness is defined – and how it is treated in today's society.

Ondiviela uses a lyrical language of dance to explore madness, and the alienation and stigmatization its diagnosis brings. He is aided by Silvera's hauntingly beautiful, folk-inspired music. By taking us inside Cassandra's head Ondiviela and Silvera question how we respond to behavior defined as madness and explore the contradicting emotions it provokes in us, from compassion and pity through to panic and fear.