Jack Holden Archives - North West End UK

12Dec

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

Kenrex – The Other Palace

A true crime story of a still unsolved crime in small town America, KENREX blends genres, true crime, western, music into something far, far greater than the sum of its parts. What begins as an almost true crime podcast style reconstruction of a murder turns into a study of how a small community shapes its own mythology, and how fear, loyalty and silence can outlast the truth. After acclaimed runs in Sheffield and Southwark Playhouse, this transfer to The Other Palace just confirms how brilliant KENREX is. Ken Rex McElroy was a violent bully who terrorised the small town of Skidmore, Missouri, for years. With no sheriff and no police within an hour's drive, the law was never able to stop him. A snake-oil lawyer (with a brilliant introduction that almost adds musical as a genre to ...

12Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Club Nvrlnd – Assembly Checkpoint

Somewhere between a jukebox musical and a club night, "Club Nvrlnd" is an impressive spectacle but lacks a good storyline. Written by Jack Holden, directed by Steven Kunis, and featuring multiple smash hit millennial anthems, the show features a cast of talented performers. However, the immersive style of the show does not work well with the venue, meaning that their performance is often hidden from the majority of the audience. The show is set twelve years after Peter and Wendy last met. Peter is a nightclub owner who's about to turn thirty, with MC Tiger hosting Club Nvrlnd and Tink as the DJ. Thomas Grant's Peter is still refusing to grow up, hiding his receding hairline and dressing as an emo kid. Meanwhile, Wendy decides not to go through with her impending marriage, and stagge...

KENREX to transfer to Southwark Playhouse

18Nov

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

KENREX to transfer to Southwark Playhouse

Aria Entertainment and Sheffield Theatres are thrilled to announce that the world premiere of KENREX will transfer from Sheffield Theatres’ Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse to Southwark Playhouse Borough from 14th February – 16th March 2025, with press night on Tuesday 18th February 2025. Following a sold-out run in Sheffield where it garnered multiple five-star reviews, KENREX is part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack, KENREX is devised by Jack Holden (Olivier-nominated Cruise) and Ed Stambollouian. '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. Photo: Manuel Harlan Jack Holden (Marriag...

24May

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

CRUISE – Duchess Theatre

Having reviewed the online stream of CRUISE during the last lockdown back in April, I was super excited to see how this intimate piece would translate from the screen to the stage, and believe me it did not disappoint. CRUISE is a lyrical celebration of queer culture, a musical and spoken word tribute to the veterans of the AIDS crisis written and performed by Jack Holden. In every way it is a perfectly crafted piece of queer theatre and whilst the online version was deeply personal in its storytelling, the on the stage narrative hits you with full force square between the eyes. A brilliant, beautiful and yet gut wrenchingly brutal piece of theatre. Poetic. Artistic. Honest. One man’s memory of a horrific period in the gay culture of ‘80s London. CRUISE is the true story of what shou...

Cruise – Aria Entertainment and Lambert Jackson

16Apr

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

REVIEWS

Cruise – Aria Entertainment and Lambert Jackson

Oscar Wilde suggested that the theatre is the “greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being” and this sentiment is beautifully represented in Jack Holden’s latest play CRUISE. A lyrical celebration of queer culture, CRUISE is a musical and spoken word tribute to the veterans of the AIDS crisis. A perfectly crafted piece of queer theatre. Poetic. Artistic. Honest. It is a brutal depiction of a horrific period in the gay culture of ‘80s London. Of course, there is no message more powerful or indeed primal than that which shows the need of a human to protect their tribe and this story, told through the eyes of a 30-year-old Jack (jack Holden) in 2021, is the perfect example of survival, of ...