Kenrex, Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse Sheffield Review
Jack Holden in KENREX. Photo by Manuel Harlan
Written by Kirsty for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Jack Holden brings small town America to life in a thrilling and enticing new play, telling the story of KenRex McElroy and how the small town of Skidmore, Missouri eventually fought back and took the law into their own hands.
Holden and co-writer Ed Stambollouian have brought a wonderful mix of thriller, and true crime podcast to life. Through Holden’s mastery of acting and movement, we meet multiple townsfolk who all have their own reasons for hating Kenrex and wanting to see his downfall. Holden also makes the audience root for the townsfolk and at the end, you feel that maybe justice was done after all. We meet the town of Skidmore through the eyes of Prosecuting Attorney David Baird, and in an “interview” with Agent Annette Parker we see that Baird is fighting his guilt for the part he played. Holden effortlessly moves from character to character, with each person having their own voice and physicality, this was demonstrated perfectly when we finally meet the infamous KenRex McElroy, Holden becomes unrecognisable as he becomes the town’s boogeyman.
Anisha Field’s set design was simple and incredibly effective and Holden made the most of the whole space to create an effective landscape for storytelling, especially in the closing scenes. Sarah Golding’s movement design in conjunction with Joshua Pharo’s lighting and video design and Giles Thomas’s sound design created the landscape of Skidmore in such an innovative way. John Patrick Elliott’s original score was evocative and added an additional layer to the performance, especially when he was a one man country band on stage. Even though the performance is not a musical, Elliott’s music was front and centre in aiding in the story telling.
Holden and Stambollouian do not shy away from incredibly difficult and possibly triggering elements of the story, however, they are handled with care and these elements are key to the whole piece. The closing scenes of the play, will leave an audience thinking what part would they have taken to save themselves from KenRex who by this point has taken on a truly monstrous role. But you are also left feeling that the victors write history and that the truth will never be known. Add to this that the piece is based on a true story, it was an interesting way to feel leaving the theatre. In this era of true crime podcasts and true crime documentaries, Holden and Stambollouian have created the perfect mix of the two and brought it to the stage.
There is no doubt that Kenrex is a riveting and innovative piece of theatre, and undoubtedly this will not be the last time that we hear the story of Skidmore, Missouri and when that time comes I will be racing back to watch again.
At Sheffield Playhouse until 16 Nov
★★★★★
