THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
By Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian; performed by Jack Holden; music composed and performed by John Patrick Elliott
The Other Palace, 12 Palace St, SW1E 5JA until February 1, 2026
Watching Kenrex reminded me of an incident when I was studying journalism 30 years ago, when a fellow student whined about why we had to do spoken word/radio production, as that was all over and TV and print had won. Radio, he claimed, was now just for music. Fast forward to today and I'm guessing far more people listen to spoken word audio or podcasts than ever watch TV news. A particular hit, of course, has been the true crime podcasts, which are obsessions for many and which infuse this blistering new drama.
Here, performer/writer/director Jack Holden, who created such a stir with his one-man show Cruise and who since then has expertly adapted Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty for the Almeida, is back with a new show of his own which, he originated with Sheffield Theatres/Aria Entertainment. Again, he breaks the mold and creates one of the most utterly compelling nights in the theater you'll see this year.
At first glance the source material isn't promising, but the result is phenomenal. It tells the chilling real-life story of Ken Rex McElroy, an appalling antisocial menace and bully who terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri, in the late 70s. His reign of intimidation ended in 1981 when the townspeople, following years of suffering, took justice into their own hands. Holden and Stambollouian have used this 'In Cold Blood'-like tale to explore themes of law and morality and vigilante justice.
Holden's performance is extraordinary (and deserves every award going) as he embodies more than a dozen characters, from the swaggering Kenrex himself to a motley collection of townsfolk and, in particular, the totally slippery and slightly fey defense lawyer David Baird, whose amorality would make a Trump blush, and the idealistic county prosecutor who valiantly tries to nail McElroy.
Holden is so good he makes a solo show feel like a great ensemble piece by just using perfectly calibrated shifts in posture, tone, or physicality to construct an entire community. The framing device - the prosecutor recounting events to an FBI investigator - keeps the narrative taut, and Stambollouian's direction is gloriously dynamic. Microphones become phone receivers or stand for characters, and mobile platforms or neon-framed door frames provide depth and visual interest, while subtle lighting shifts create courtrooms, stores, and bars.
Joshua Pharo's lighting design is epic and cinematic, while Giles Thomas' exemplary sound design incorporates the ever-present C&W radio, scratchy payphone calls, taped voices, and gunfire, which animate Holden's world and pitch us firmly into small-town Missouri.
Intrinsic to the piece is John Patrick Elliott's pulsating, foot-stomping Americana/bluegrass score, which fuses electronica with guitars, banjo, and drums. It doesn't just underscore the drama; it becomes a character in itself, amplifying the tension while blending with Holden's astonishing array of perfectly delineated voices.
The play deftly explores the ethics of vigilante justice and the failings of the current criminal justice system without offering easy answers. It channels what Holden calls "the quiet of mystery beneath the mundane" in how it presents small-town life. While Act 1 builds the suspense, layering on the data with forensic skill, Act 2 grapples with the moral ambiguity involved. Holden's spare dialogue is so well judged it would make Sam Shepard jealous.
Kenrex is theater at its most electrifying because it proves just how thrilling and expansive a one-man performance can be. It's a must-see for fans of true crime and innovative stage storytelling.
