Cassandra is an award-winning Cypriot Australian writer. She was one of six finalists for her play Hush Hush in the New Play Award Aus Theatre Festival in New York, which was also longlisted for the Theatre 503 International Playwrighting Award. Her short fiction Deep Water Strong Currents was a fiction winner of the Ultimo Prize and was published in the anthology, Everything, All At Once: Fiction and poetry from 30 of Australia’s best writers under 30, by Ultimo Press in 2021. She was one of nine playwrights chosen to be commissioned by Paines Plough Theatre in collaboration with Critical Stages for Come To Where I Am: Australia. Her latest play The 13th Month premiered at Flight Path Theatre in 2024. She was Longlisted for the Martin Lysicrates Prize in 2024. She was shortlisted for the Max Afford Playwrights Award in 2016 for her play Loose Teeth, which enjoyed a sold-out season in 2017, and was then published in 2021 by APT. While her interests in writing run broad and deep across politics, mythology, history, and the sciences, her writing is characterised by a fierce interrogation of this moment in time. Cassandra is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, where she studied publicity and journalism.
Awards
Winner: Ultimo Prize, 2021 (Deep Water, Strong Currents)
Finalist : New Play Award, Aus Theatre Festival NYC, 2022 (Hush Hush)
Shortlisted: Max Afford Playwrights Award 2016, (Loose Teeth), MTC Cybec Electric (2022, 2023)
Longlisted: Theatre 503 International Playwrighting Award 2022, (Hush Hush), Martin Lysicrates Prize 2024

REVIEWS

“Satire Night Fever!” - Sydney Arts Guide

“The 13th Month has a roughhewn rawness played out with feverishfun... 4 stars.” – Sydney Arts Guide

“A beautiful, touching and thought-provoking piece that will leave you elated by the magic of human connection” – Beat Magazine

“Yiannacou creates such beautifully uplifting moments” – Beat Magazine

“Yiannacou has written a powerful play.” – Lilithia Reviews

“Depicted with heartbreaking dialogue and vivid imagery that highlighted rawness and vulnerability within complex relationships” – Emerging Writer’s Festival Gazette

“Poetic ode to love”- The Age

“This collaboration turned La Mama into a vibrant hub of performance, giving welcome voice to a new generation of theatre makers.” – The Age