Autohoodening: The Rise of Captain Swing

Date Issued
January 2022
Author(s)
Abstract
Autohoodening is a collaborative performance work that reimagines the historic Kentish midwinter custom of Hoodening through the lens of contemporary labour conditions and automation. Developed as part of the wider Autohoodening Symposium (2019–), the project draws on archival research, worker testimonies, and trade union perspectives to create a tragicomic operatic film. Rooted in the carnivalesque traditions of East Kent farm labourers, the work translates the symbolic horse effigy and seasonal ritual into a critique of modern logistics systems, particularly focusing on the working realities within Amazon fulfilment centres. Through song, satire, and embodied performance, Autohoodening interrogates the hidden infrastructures of convenience capitalism and the human cost behind “one-click” consumption.
Subjects

Film opera

Activism

Amazon

Costume

Folk history

Reimagining

Singing

Captain Swing

Post Workers Theatre

File(s)
Thumbnail Image
Name

PWT_AH_STILLS_8.png

Size

1.62 MB

Format

PNG

Checksum (MD5)

0e960a05c73c547b2f2c5ed6c58210c1

Thumbnail Image
Name

PWT_AH_STILLS_7.png

Size

1.93 MB

Format

PNG

Checksum (MD5)

6d992d4743ebd24a9d6fc99f5a64ec8c