The woman who's decided to live as a sheep

The Beauty of Being Herd at this year’s Brighton Fringe is the tale of a woman who's decided to live as a sheep.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. It's lovely

00:06this afternoon to speak to Ruth Berkhoff. Now, Ruth, you are bringing a super intriguing,

00:11eccentric piece to the Brighton Fringe, aren't you? And it is The Beauty of Being Herd, H-E-R-D,

00:18Herd. And it's for anyone who's ever felt awkward at a party. I'm looking at a fantastic

00:24picture of you with sheep's ears. How do the sheep come into this? How do they come into it? Well,

00:31I'm from Yorkshire, so I go walking a lot in the hills. So when I was thinking, what can I write

00:37about? I'd already done magpies, because I did that when I was at circus school. So what do I see a lot

00:42of? Sheep was the next thing. I suppose I could have done pigeons, but I'd already done a bird.

00:48Right. And what's so special about sheep, apart from the fact there are plenty of them?

00:52What do they represent in this? They represent a simpler life. And they come in as a gang. So

01:01yeah, like, understanding what's going on. It's very basic. Their life is very basic.

01:08And they always, you see them together, they're hanging out together, keeping their eyes on each

01:13other. They're fluffy. That's also a good thing. And your character, Hannah, she wants to be a sheep?

01:18Is that the best way of expressing it? She's going to be a sheep. She's decided. It's happening.

01:26And it sounds like it's quite a poignant piece as well. The fact is she's an outsider. She wants

01:32to connect. She wants to make friends, but she struggles. So what's the meaning of the sheep

01:37in that context then? Yeah, I mean, it's not, it's not a cut and dry, like black and white

01:47thing. But yeah, she's looking for connection. She wants to understand what is expected of her. And so

01:57she can fit in and just do what needs to be done and be surrounded by others. So that's what's

02:05underneath it. But there's obviously a lot of ridiculousness and the sheep costume is, I've

02:11sewn it myself. So it's all very DIY. But at the same time, sitting in it now, really, it'd be great

02:18to see it. I did. I thought about it. Should I put it on? Well, we can imagine you'll have to send me

02:27the picture. But it sounds terrific. Yeah, it sounds a really intriguing show. And it's at the Brighton

02:32Fringe this May. Lovely to speak to you. And I hope it goes superbly. Thank you. Thanks, Phil.

02:38Thanks, Phil.