Jack Holden in Kenrex [Pamela Raith]

LAST month, Jack Holden wowed with his adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty at the Almeida. So I was keen to see both his performance and his co-writing of Kenrex, created with director Ed Stambollouian.

I was not disappointed. Holden is stunning, taking on every role in this compelling and surprisingly resonant true-crime thriller, accompanied by an exhilarating live soundtrack from award-winning composer and musician John Patrick Elliott.

County prosecutor David Baird opens the show, recounting the summer of 1981, when Ken Rex McElroy – cattle rustler, thief and arsonist – terrorised the small town of Skidmore, Missouri, with his jeep, guns and dog. With no sheriff and police hours away, he repeatedly evaded justice. And when he was brought to court, his cunning defence attorney Richard McFadden ensured he walked free.

Baird introduces us to key figures, ranging from preacher Tim Warren and grocers Lois and Bo Bowenkamp to pub landlady Ida Smith and Mayor Steve Peter.

Ken is married to local girl Treena, whom he impregnated when she was just 14. To avoid statutory rape charges, they travelled to Parnell, where he married her – in Missouri, a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband.

After Ken goes too far, shooting Bo Bowenkamp and leaving him for dead, the townsfolk finally take matters into their own hands.

Holden utterly inhabits each role, deftly switching between characters with the subtlest of gestures or shifts in voice. It’s a tour-de-force performance tightly directed by Stambollouian and perfectly complemented by Elliott’s score, Anisha Fields’ set, Joshua Pharo’s evocative lighting and video design, and Giles Thomas’s flawless sound.

Unmissable.

Until February 1
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