Culture writer Ella Goldwater reviews KENREX finding it to be a dynamic and exciting performance that will keep you hooked like a true crime podcast right till the very end!
Nothing will prepare you for the one-man masterpiece that is Kenrex. The masterful Jack Holden wears many hats, hopping between at least 11 characters with clarity, confidence and emotion. Walking out of the theatre, I almost had to pinch myself to believe that this intricately woven town, with its familiar, friendly faces, was acted out by just one man. The play is a triumph and sets a standard for theatre that I believe few plays on West End right now can beat.
Set in the intimate town of Skidmore, Missouri, Ken Rex is the renowned smalltown bully, accused of fraud, theft, animal abuse… the list goes on. Time and time again, Ken Rex escapes court unscathed, until, one day, he takes things too far, shooting pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp. The town unite in a stand against Ken, intent on seeing things through once and for all.
The depth of characterisation achieved by one actor is unexpected and totally enthralling
From start to finish, two figures command the stage, actor and co-writer Jack Holden and on-stage musician and songwriter, John Patrick Elliott. Both men are undeniably the crème de la crème of their fields – Holden astounds audiences with his nimble voice-switching, flawless navigation of the set and fluid exchange between genders, personalities and body languages, whilst Elliot, bringing his own country-rock fusion compositions to the show, fuels the performance with energy and emotion. For a one-man show with a one-man band, both men push one-man limits to the extreme.
Ed Stambollouian and Jack Holden, Kenrex co-writers, create an experience that is witty, dark and gripping. The depth of characterisation achieved by one actor is unexpected and totally enthralling. The pacing of the play is timed to perfection – the audience is gently invited to enter Skidmore, learning to know and love each easily distinguishable character before the pace picks up and all hell breaks loose. Stambollouian and Holden establish that Kenrex is not just another play criticising the judicial system, rather raising questions of morality and justice to chew on for days after watching.
The set of the play is simple and effective, drawing attention to the true wonders of the stage, the men commanding it. Each element of the set is used to its fullest – microphone’s distinguish characters, stairs elevate a character’s status, a doorframe becomes a phone booth, a town bar and a hideout within the space of a few minutes. The lighting is deliberate and honed to perfection, switching artfully between an ambience of warmth and coldness. The costuming, one of the most consistent features of the play, does not attempt to reflect the appearance of each character. While I initially found the suit a little distracting as Holden navigates male and female, formal and informal characters, it quickly became unnoticeable as the depth and familiarity of each personality took form.
The set of the play is simple and effective, drawing attention to the true wonders of the stage, the men commanding it
Kenrex is based on a true story and incorporates snippets of a podcast investigating the case to elevate the sense of reality. It fuses elements of television with theatre, scrolling through projected post-play credits akin to that of movies as the audience departs, leaving them questioning how such a complex narrative could be created so successfully for stage, let alone with just one actor.
Kenrex is a show not to miss. The humble Southwark Playhouse hosts this absolute gem, but not for much longer, so grab your tickets – I have no doubt that this is not the last that we will see of Jack Holden’s work, or of Kenrex.
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