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KENREX
'911, what's your emergency?'
'My husband... they shot him... they all did.'
July 10th 1981. Skidmore, Missouri. A man is shot dead in broad daylight. There are sixty witnesses - but no one saw a thing. Part True Crime, part Western, KENREX is a gritty, gripping, thrill ride through the American Midwest.
Co-written by Jack Holden, creator of Olivier-nominated West End hit Cruise, and director Ed Stambollouian. This edition was published to coincide with the run at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024.
'My husband... they shot him... they all did.'
July 10th 1981. Skidmore, Missouri. A man is shot dead in broad daylight. There are sixty witnesses - but no one saw a thing. Part True Crime, part Western, KENREX is a gritty, gripping, thrill ride through the American Midwest.
Co-written by Jack Holden, creator of Olivier-nominated West End hit Cruise, and director Ed Stambollouian. This edition was published to coincide with the run at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024.
60 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 13, 2026
Update: Thrilled that Jack Holden just won Best Actor at the Oliviers, beating out some formidable and MUCH better-known competition - talent will out!
3.5, rounded up.
I really liked Holden's debut play, Cruise, which - like this one - was performed as a solo show by the playwright. But in that one, he focused on the AIDS crisis in London, and while he embodied multiple characters, he primarily played himself - and the story seemed much more personal.
Here, he takes on a true-life crime story from the '80's that occurred in rural Missouri, based on In Broad Daylight - and while not exactly out of his element, it lacks the immediacy of his previous play.
And with almost 20 characters, I kept wondering HOW this could possibly work as a solo show - but it got fantastic reviews and as one can see from the video below - Holden is a magical performer (albeit I see he uses the script to read from - as it would seem well-nigh impossible to memorize the entire script):
https://vimeo.com/823688977
And although the story being told has compelling elements - I also felt disconnected from a lot of it. But I drew intriguing parallels between this story of a bully who had gotten away with numerous illegal activities for years before the populace got fed up and took justice into their own hands - and a certain current American political figure. But in the unlikely event Holden ever brings it to my neck of the woods, I'd be there in a heartbeat.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://northernartsreview.co.uk/cent...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
3.5, rounded up.
I really liked Holden's debut play, Cruise, which - like this one - was performed as a solo show by the playwright. But in that one, he focused on the AIDS crisis in London, and while he embodied multiple characters, he primarily played himself - and the story seemed much more personal.
Here, he takes on a true-life crime story from the '80's that occurred in rural Missouri, based on In Broad Daylight - and while not exactly out of his element, it lacks the immediacy of his previous play.
And with almost 20 characters, I kept wondering HOW this could possibly work as a solo show - but it got fantastic reviews and as one can see from the video below - Holden is a magical performer (albeit I see he uses the script to read from - as it would seem well-nigh impossible to memorize the entire script):
https://vimeo.com/823688977
And although the story being told has compelling elements - I also felt disconnected from a lot of it. But I drew intriguing parallels between this story of a bully who had gotten away with numerous illegal activities for years before the populace got fed up and took justice into their own hands - and a certain current American political figure. But in the unlikely event Holden ever brings it to my neck of the woods, I'd be there in a heartbeat.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://northernartsreview.co.uk/cent...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
April 27, 2026
I was a kid when this case occurred and I vaguely remember it, because it made national news. For a couple of Brits to write such an insightful and startlingly real play about it is quite amazing, the fact that it's performed by one man is astonishing! I so want to see a production of this!
March 13, 2026
A brilliant play bringing an interesting true crime story to life, focussing on the core moral question at the centre of this case.
Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian’s true crime thriller KENREX is based on the real-life murder of Ken Rex McElroy, a man who terrorised the town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades up until his death in 1981. The play follows the events that led up to his death, and how up to as many as 60 people witnessed it but claimed to have not seen the killer(s). It is an interesting story, one that I have been fascinated with for years, because it asks you a very interesting question, one that Holden and Stambollouian articulate extremely well: is murder ever justified and what does justice actually look like?
This is just straight up a very well written, brilliant play, even divorced from the visual elements that the original stage production brought along with it. This is best shown through the titular character of Ken Rex McElroy, who’s dialogue you can just feel in your bones as you read the play. My personal favourite moment is the monologue describing McElroy because it puts you on edge within a page of dialogue. In order for this story to work, we need to feel scared of McElroy instantly and just by highlighting what this man was actually like and why this town was so scared of him, you understand why he was scared before really learning what he did. Even though I saw the stage production over a year ago, it is the one scene I can vividly remember in my mind and the writing really brings this monster to life. It’s also interesting to see how the script doesn’t force productions to be a one-man show like it was originally conceptualised as. Whilst there are moments where this is indicated – like the stage directions saying that Baird becomes Ken during the aforementioned monologue – it can easily be played with an ensemble. I really appreciate the balancing act that was done here, allowing so much creative freedom upon directors in the future, whilst maintaining a solid and cohesive play.
For me, the most interesting part of KENREX is the deviations from what actually had happened in Skidmore and how Holden and Stambollouian streamlined decades worth of events into a two-hour play. The most notable example of this is the events that led to Bo Bowenkamp being shot. In the actual case, one of the store workers stopped one of his children from stealing which enraged Ken. This is changed to a conversation between Trena, Ken’s wife, and Bo’s wife, Lois, where Lois highlights the tensions and animosity towards Trena, this young girl who was groomed by Ken when she was a teenager. This conversation sets up the rest of the play. Everything that happens going forward is because of this moment – Ken shooting Bo, Bo recovering, Ken being charged, Ken being released, Ken being shot, Trena’s settlement – and yet it’s a fictional moment but it doesn’t feel unnecessary. It captures years of what they couldn’t show in a single scene and sets everything up perfectly. You can tell that Holden and Stambollouian did a lot of research into what happened and who these people were because of how seamlessly they interwove fictional scenes to streamline events with the truth.
But what really solidifies KENREX as a masterpiece in my mind is its final pages, specifically from the scene where Ken gets shot. This is where Holden and Stambollouian show the true complexity of this case, asking us to question the nature of justice and if this was justified, showing both arguments so succinctly. Firstly, you have the framing narrative with Parker and Baird where Baird fights against his role as the District Attorney and his notions of morality. Parker lists some of the extreme acts McElroy committed and you can’t help but feel like it was justified and when you learn about the case, you understand why they did and why they stayed silent. But then you meet Trena again and you feel her rage at how she’s not getting justice. Whilst she was groomed by this man, she did love him. She was sat next to him when he was repeatedly shot by multiple people and the town that she grew up in left her on her own. By having these scenes back-to-back, Holden and Stambollouian highlight that there isn’t an easy answer to this. KENREX is a story about how there isn’t a right answer to moral questions. McElroy’s death, even forty years on, continues to ask us if murder is justifiable and Holden and Stambollouian have executed that brilliantly.
I can’t heap enough praise on this play. What Holden and Stambollouian have written is a masterpiece that I think we will keep on seeing pop up in many productions, either as one-man shows or through bold new interpretations featuring an ensemble. Like a true crime documentary, it is a play that will keep you hooked until the end, whilst simultaneously asking you questions about the nature of justice.
Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian’s true crime thriller KENREX is based on the real-life murder of Ken Rex McElroy, a man who terrorised the town of Skidmore, Missouri for decades up until his death in 1981. The play follows the events that led up to his death, and how up to as many as 60 people witnessed it but claimed to have not seen the killer(s). It is an interesting story, one that I have been fascinated with for years, because it asks you a very interesting question, one that Holden and Stambollouian articulate extremely well: is murder ever justified and what does justice actually look like?
This is just straight up a very well written, brilliant play, even divorced from the visual elements that the original stage production brought along with it. This is best shown through the titular character of Ken Rex McElroy, who’s dialogue you can just feel in your bones as you read the play. My personal favourite moment is the monologue describing McElroy because it puts you on edge within a page of dialogue. In order for this story to work, we need to feel scared of McElroy instantly and just by highlighting what this man was actually like and why this town was so scared of him, you understand why he was scared before really learning what he did. Even though I saw the stage production over a year ago, it is the one scene I can vividly remember in my mind and the writing really brings this monster to life. It’s also interesting to see how the script doesn’t force productions to be a one-man show like it was originally conceptualised as. Whilst there are moments where this is indicated – like the stage directions saying that Baird becomes Ken during the aforementioned monologue – it can easily be played with an ensemble. I really appreciate the balancing act that was done here, allowing so much creative freedom upon directors in the future, whilst maintaining a solid and cohesive play.
For me, the most interesting part of KENREX is the deviations from what actually had happened in Skidmore and how Holden and Stambollouian streamlined decades worth of events into a two-hour play. The most notable example of this is the events that led to Bo Bowenkamp being shot. In the actual case, one of the store workers stopped one of his children from stealing which enraged Ken. This is changed to a conversation between Trena, Ken’s wife, and Bo’s wife, Lois, where Lois highlights the tensions and animosity towards Trena, this young girl who was groomed by Ken when she was a teenager. This conversation sets up the rest of the play. Everything that happens going forward is because of this moment – Ken shooting Bo, Bo recovering, Ken being charged, Ken being released, Ken being shot, Trena’s settlement – and yet it’s a fictional moment but it doesn’t feel unnecessary. It captures years of what they couldn’t show in a single scene and sets everything up perfectly. You can tell that Holden and Stambollouian did a lot of research into what happened and who these people were because of how seamlessly they interwove fictional scenes to streamline events with the truth.
But what really solidifies KENREX as a masterpiece in my mind is its final pages, specifically from the scene where Ken gets shot. This is where Holden and Stambollouian show the true complexity of this case, asking us to question the nature of justice and if this was justified, showing both arguments so succinctly. Firstly, you have the framing narrative with Parker and Baird where Baird fights against his role as the District Attorney and his notions of morality. Parker lists some of the extreme acts McElroy committed and you can’t help but feel like it was justified and when you learn about the case, you understand why they did and why they stayed silent. But then you meet Trena again and you feel her rage at how she’s not getting justice. Whilst she was groomed by this man, she did love him. She was sat next to him when he was repeatedly shot by multiple people and the town that she grew up in left her on her own. By having these scenes back-to-back, Holden and Stambollouian highlight that there isn’t an easy answer to this. KENREX is a story about how there isn’t a right answer to moral questions. McElroy’s death, even forty years on, continues to ask us if murder is justifiable and Holden and Stambollouian have executed that brilliantly.
I can’t heap enough praise on this play. What Holden and Stambollouian have written is a masterpiece that I think we will keep on seeing pop up in many productions, either as one-man shows or through bold new interpretations featuring an ensemble. Like a true crime documentary, it is a play that will keep you hooked until the end, whilst simultaneously asking you questions about the nature of justice.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews