We sat down for an exclusive interview with Jenni Nikinmaa, playwright and performer in Sheep!, a play about how to belong after an assault.
Sheep! runs from 9th October and premieres at Greenwich Theatre on 24th November – Tickets here
What inspired you to explore sexual assault and its aftermath through the unexpected perspective of a sheep?
Sheep came first! I was on an island which hosts a multitude of sheep, and I was listening to them and their different voices and thinking about how we flock them together as the same despite their individualities. I wanted to explore that, and how important belonging to a herd is to all of us, despite human beings often treating it like weakness that makes us all the same. Then I experienced a sexual assault while I was feeling safe, and it became part of that disruption of belonging I want to bridge with my work.
How does humour help you approach such difficult material without losing sight of its emotional weight?
For me, humour and emotional weight co-exist in a balance that allows me to deliver difficult topics in a way that doesn’t shut down those receiving the story. The focus of this play is also more on the attempts of belonging when you feel out of place because someone of your own flock hurt you – and those attempts are sometimes quite hilarious simply as they are.
You describe Sheep! as focusing on vicarious resilience rather than the assault itself — why was that distinction important to you?
Because I don’t think there’s anything important to be gained from focusing on the event itself, and I have never really enjoyed plays that gorge on horrible stuff and on who did what. I’m much more interested in what happens after the pain and how to describe the curious defence and survival mechanisms that kick in, and in dramaturgies that can get into the why of it all. Sheep! has had a few people who’d more likely be on the perpetrator-side of the spectrum come up to me with this light in their eyes because they finally understood why it’s so hurtful when your boundaries are crossed – and the survivors feel really seen, which is a valuable connection for me.
What does the idea of the “flock” allow you to explore about belonging, isolation and finding your way back to others?
I think we are, as humans, way too fixated on our individual selves and the survival of them rather than keeping all living beings thriving. The flock, especially a sheep flock, is looked down upon – but for me, it’s a something to aspire to, something that doesn’t take away the individuality but offers a space for it as long as it doesn’t grow too big. There’s one sheep in the play who becomes a famous singer and then goes to space for all of sheepkind, and her disconnection from the others is quite hilarious and also a timely picture of our culture.
How have your experiences of performing and developing the piece changed since its premiere in Galway?
I haven’t performed the piece yet after Galway! To be honest, I am terrified, because I haven’t done a tour of this scale ever, and more venues keep being added, and I don’t fly so I’m the one figuring out how to get me and the set and the stage manager to all of these places. I’m also eager to perform the play more because I absolutely love it, and I think it will develop through audience interaction into a piece that is even more charming that in it is now. Can’t wait to share it!
What do you hope audiences take away from Sheep! after following this very unusual journey towards belonging?
I hope the audiences take away the feeling of being seen and heard, if they have ever struggled with a crossing of boundaries that was difficult to label, or were called crazy because they couldn’t articulate a hurt in a way that would make sense to others. And I hope the audience that hasn’t experienced being cut off from their flock because something bad happened to them, gains an insight into how to hold those who have. I also hope there’s a sense of belonging into the flock that joins me for that night in theatre.