POLITE CONVERSATION

REBECCA HOSSACK GALLERY, LONDON, 1992

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Society's images of women have always fascinated Wildgoose. In 1992 she designed Middleton's production of Polite Conversation, a neo-Gothic chamber piece based on writings by commentators such as Aphra Behn and Sheridan, which explore sexuality and social mores. 'I wanted to show how easily gossip can label people - and in particular make or break a woman's reputation - so I decided to have the actors wearing other people's descriptions. I blew up a variety of texts and pamphlets from 18th-century books and printed them onto cotton sateen corsets.'

Links:

• Notes: Baroque Baroque, the culture of excess, Stephen Calloway