MickeyJoTheatre Podcast

Episode: ★★★★★ REVIEW – KENREX (The Other Palace Theatre, London)

Host: MickeyJoTheatre
Date: December 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, leading theatre critic Mickey Jo reviews "Ken Rex," the latest explosive theatrical production at London's Other Palace Theatre. He discusses the show's true crime origins, Jack Holden's powerhouse performance, the innovative staging, and why this piece stands out from typical festive or mainstream West End fare. The review is passionate and detailed, engaging listeners whether they’re die-hard theatre fans or newcomers drawn by true crime drama.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Sets "Ken Rex" Apart

• Countercultural Programming:
  • Unlike the typical Christmas shows, "Ken Rex" is described as a "countercultural," "explosive, multi-rolling true crime performance" (03:30).
  • It defies the usual wintry, family-friendly traditions and instead offers something "unlike anything else" on stage this season.
• Instant Impression:
  • Mickey Jo describes the show as "f—king cool in a way that not a lot of theater is…a lot of stuff is impressive and remarkable and engaging. Not a lot is this cool" (02:16).

2. Production & Staging

• Visual and Technical Setup:
  • Set on a thrust stage, painted green, filled with props, microphones, and musical instruments—immediately “rich with theatrical possibility” (06:03).
  • Musician John Patrick Elliot performs live onstage, creating a "cinematic vibe" without turning the play into a musical (07:28).
• Props and Symbolism:
  • Handheld microphones serve as everything from phones to crowd members to instruments for voice effects.
  • Lighting and video design (by Joshua Desaro) and Giles Thomas’ sound create “surround sound moments” that amplify the sense of intimidation and immerse the audience in the small-town setting (12:49, 13:56).

3. Jack Holden's Performance

• Solo with an Asterisk:
  • Jack Holden performs the bulk of the roles, bringing "chameleonic performance" and “fascinating physicality” to each character.
  • Notable for blurring the lines between performer, writer, and director—a true “theatre maker” (04:35).
• Characterization:
  • Holden switches seamlessly between wildly different figures: the sinister Ken Rex, a squeaky-voiced pastor, a radio DJ, and a scheming lawyer with a cartoonish theme song (10:29).
  • “It’s this sort of Richard III meets Mr. Hyde kind of a posture” when playing Ken Rex—a transformation that's both theatrical and chilling (11:34).

4. True Crime Roots & Tone

• Story Background:
  • Based on real events—Ken Rex McElroy, the infamous "town bully" whose crimes went unpunished by law, prompting eventual mob justice by his community.
  • The tone is described as a blend of “Making a Murderer meets The Simpsons…an episode where everyone’s just having a really intensely bad day” (08:44).
• Narrative Devices & Tension:
  • Uses humor and “cartoonish” characterizations to provide needed levity, only to sharply pivot into moments of darkness and menace.
  • Scene transitions, rapid character changes, and clever use of technical elements build sustained “blood-pumping” tension—especially notable in a "standoff scene where [Jack Holden] is threatening himself" (14:03).

5. Emotional Range & Audience Experience

• Comic Relief then Real Impact:
  • The writing delivers “big laughs…until it doesn’t,” capturing the uncomfortable interplay between comedy and creeping dread (16:25).
• Audience Interaction and Immersion:
  • At times, the audience claps along with percussive barn dance rhythms; at others, silenced by the escalating intensity.

6. Strong Second Act and Final Reflections

• Innovative Staging Evolution:
  • The technical direction ramps up: “As we go into the second act, the microphone stands themselves come to represent the scale of characters in a moment…hard to otherwise depict in a solo version” (18:45).
• Moral and Social Questions:
  • The finale explores mob justice—“not whether [Ken Rex] did a crime, but how the town ultimately turned against him” (22:07).
  • Raises questions about community, complicity, and the limits of legal justice, though MickeyJo feels the show could push its social commentary even further (22:38).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Show’s Distinctiveness:

  “Honestly, it’s just really f—king cool in a way that not a lot of theater is. A lot of stuff is impressive and remarkable and engaging. Not a lot is this cool.”
  — Mickey Jo (02:16)

• Describing the Tonal Mashup:

  “It’s more like what you get if you handed Baby Reindeer a shrink ray and a shotgun. Or I guess maybe shot Baby Reindeer with that shotgun.”
  — Mickey Jo (05:06)

• Capturing Small-Town Life:

  “…a town where locals recognize each other from a distance by the way they drive their pickup trucks, and crucially, that it is remote enough and small enough that it takes any real police presence more than an hour to arrive…”
  — Mickey Jo (12:19)

• On Jack Holden’s Performance:

  “It’s this sort of Richard III meets Mr. Hyde kind of a posture…completed with a very bassy drawl and this pained grimace entirely in contrast to like the vivacious radio DJ, the squeaky voiced pastor and the gossipy store worker who we’ve just met.”
  — Mickey Jo (11:34)

• About the Audience’s Emotional Journey:

  “…the air slowly disappearing out of the room. Then you have sequences like the end of Act 1…smoke is filling the stage, blue lighting is flashing. We are hearing power chords on an electric guitar. It’s intense. It’s heavy metal theater.”
  — Mickey Jo (17:09)

• On the Show’s Impact:

  “It will make your heart beat faster. It will make the hairs on your arms stand up. Take people to go and see this who don’t think they like theatre and convert them for life. Because this…it is just cool.”
  — Mickey Jo (24:17, closing statement)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Ken Rex – Not Your Festive Fare: 03:00–05:30
• Set, Stage & First Impressions: 06:03–07:40
• Jack Holden’s Transformations & Characterization: 10:29–12:49
• Building the World of Skidmore & True Crime Roots: 12:19–14:02
• Moment of High Tension (Standoff): 14:03–15:10
• Comic Writing and Scene in the Bar: 16:25–17:08
• Second Act Innovations & Microphone Symbolism: 18:45–19:57
• Mob Justice, Moral Dilemmas, and Ending (Spoilers): 22:00–24:17
• Final Recommendation: 24:17–24:52

Conclusion & Recommendation

MickeyJo’s review shines with enthusiasm and conviction: “Ken Rex” is a truly unique, pulse-pounding true crime thriller that achieves something rare—being genuinely “cool” theatre. The creative partnership between Jack Holden and the production team is praised, particularly for its technical innovation and showmanship.

If you love true crime, dark comedy, innovative solo performances, or simply want to challenge your impressions of what theatre can be, this show is “a great theatre show to take people who don’t think they like theatre whatsoever.” It’s a rare, challenging, and stirring piece. MickeyJo urges listeners not to miss it.

MickeyJo’s Final Word:

“Go and check it out for yourselves at the Other Palace Theatre in London. If you have already, I would love to know what you thought. … It is just cool. Go and check it out.” (24:17)