Kenrex
Gripping true crime with Kenrex play tickets
Fresh from critically acclaimed runs at Sheffield Theatres and Southwark Playhouse, the sensational Kenrex play transfers to The Other Palace. Mixing true crime storytelling, Western grit, and a live, foot-stomping Americana soundtrack, this incredible story from the Olivier Award-nominated team behind Cruise follows a small-town community as they take criminal justice into their own hands.
Missouri, 1981. For over a decade, Ken Rex McElroy has terrorised the town of Skidmore, with a rap sheet stretching from theft and assault to abduction and attempted murder. Thanks to a slippery defence lawyer and a failing justice system, he’s never spent a night behind bars. But when McElroy shoots local grocer Bo Bowenkamp and leaves him for dead, the townspeople decide they’ve had enough. If the courts won’t stop him, they will. What follows is a tense, unflinching account of a community taking the law into its own hands.
Directed by Ed Stambollouian and co-written by Stambollouian and Jack Holden, Kenrex is “spellbinding” (What’s On Stage) live entertainment that critics called “Under Milk Wood meets Sergio Leone, with astonishing results” (The Telegraph). The duo’s aim when creating the show was to bring the immersive intensity of true crime podcasts onto the stage. The results deliver a unique and unforgettable night at the theatre – truly unlike anything else you’ll watch all year.
Holden (best known for his breakthrough one-man play Cruise, which played the West End’s Apollo Theatre) delivers a magnetic, shape-shifting performance as both narrator and characters. Composer John Patrick Elliott’s onstage music drives the atmosphere – turning the theatre into a pulsing, cinematic soundscape.
The Kenrex play creative team also includes Anisha Fields (set & costume design), Joshua Pharo (lighting & video design), Giles Thomas (sound design), and Sarah Golding (movement direction).
With its fusion of gripping narrative, powerhouse performance, and electrifying live score, Kenrex is a theatrical event you won’t be able to look away from. Book now for a night of high-stakes storytelling that leaves you questioning where justice ends and vengeance begins.
Child friendly?
The Kenrex play age rating is 12+. It features haze, flashing lights, strobe lighting, loud noises, gunshot sound effects, depiction of physical violence and death, strong language, and references to grooming, rape, sexual and physical abuse.