How Does The Media Impact On Our Sense Of Security?

In an age where we are wracked by uncertainly, hatred and fear, Griffin Theatre's production of Gloria couldn't be more pertinent. "It's quite a complicated play in the sense that it's a tapestry of stories that all revolve around this theme of security, which is really timely because we're dealing with it all the time in the media - how safe we all are, whether we need to project our borders," gushes Kristy Best, one of eight cast members in Benedict Andrews' production. "It's interesting that [Andrews] has created something in which people are trying to separate themselves from the danger out there and in turn bring their own drama into their own lives."

The play takes place in a high-rise apartment block, below which a war is raging. "We've segregated ourselves away from that and we think we're safe in our little high towers, but the war is getting closer and closer throughout the play. So that's how the tension rises, but at the same time all these different realities are happening," explains Best.

"What I'm seeing right now on the commercial networks: Why is it being skewed? Are we being manipulated? Is this real? What is real?"

From the way she weaves her way around explaining the story "without giving anything away", Gloria slowly emerges as a work that endeavours to cover as many aspects surrounding the issue of safety as possible, from as many perspectives as the medium allows. "It's very complicated, very busy; thinking theatre more than anything else. It does really touch on so much stuff that's happened in the media. From the beginning you'll pick up on the fact that every character is talking about being safe or wanting to protect someone; they're very hyperaware of their own security... We see what that means for some people, because I think we all have different definitions of what security is - financial, emotional. I think at times it highlights how ridiculous one person's idea of security is compared to someone else's who's used to being in far more danger.

"Myself, like everybody in the play, except for Marta [Dusseldorp]'s character, transform along the way - we keep the same name but we become different people. It's really fun, because the status changes and we experience different lives and we work with one another in different ways. You kinda of get to explore how different people live."

The power and influence of the media - and its ability to incite hysteria - has evidently being playing on Best's mind. "It's a really big thing because we are kind of far away from everywhere else and we do think that we're safe, but at the same time we're being told we're not safe [by the media]. I mean I personally get quite annoyed with it, like, 'Why do you keep trying to make it seem like it's really bad out there?' Because I think they're trying to scare us all the time and I don't know if it's that necessary.

"What I'm seeing right now on the commercial networks: Why is it being skewed? Are we being manipulated? Is this real? What is real? And I guess that's actually a lot of the stuff that goes on in Gloria as well: how much of the stuff we're experiencing is real and how much is heightened and fabricated?"