Review of KENREX for The Live Review, February 2025
KENREX LASSOED ME IN FASTER THAN I COULD SAY “KEN”
A review by Charlotte Mason-Mottram
Some plays creep up on you; it might only be after the interval that you start to understand the story. Others grab you by the collar and pull you into their world from the moment the lights dim. Kenrex at Southwark Playhouse is the latter, a one-man show that explodes onto the stage and never loosens its grip.
Kenrex is one of the most exhilarating productions I’ve seen in a long time. A Western, a true crime podcast, and a concert all at once. With powerhouse performances, atmospheric sound design, and an original score pulsing with raw energy, this play redefines what a solo show can be.
Jack Holden (Ken Rex McElroy) is a tour de force. With astonishing versatility, he embodies not just Ken Rex, the town bully of Skidmore, Missouri, but an entire town’s worth of people. His physicality and voice work are nothing short of masterful—he shifts between characters so seamlessly that even without lighting cues, you’d know exactly who he was playing. But lighting designer Joshua Pharo adds another layer of brilliance, casting shadows that transform Holden’s face into a new persona with every flicker.
Of course, Holden isn’t entirely alone. The live music by John Patrick Elliott elevates Kenrex beyond traditional theatre. Elliott’s rockstar energy infuses the performance with an urgency that makes the story feel alive. Lighting designer Giles Thomas makes phenomenal use of surround sound, plunging the audience into the thick of the action. Gunshots ricochet around the room; the voices of Skidmore’s townfolk encircle you.
The story alone is gripping: a town of 400 people terrorised by one man. Ken Rex McElroy’s CV of bad behaviour is extensive—intimidation, theft, attempted murder—but despite countless crimes, he’s “never spent a night behind bars”. The justice system has failed Skidmore, and the townspeople decide to take matters into their own hands. What unfolds is a chilling and thought-provoking exploration of morality, fear, and collective justice.
Jack Holden and John Patrick Elliott don’t just tell a story; they immerse us in it, making us feel like part of the mob, part of the action. When I left the theatre, I felt as though I’d just walked out of a cinema, shaken by the raw power of live performance. Kenrex isn’t just theatre—it’s theatre at its most visceral, its most urgent, and its most unmissable.
KENREX is running at Southwark Playhouse Borough until Saturday 15 March.