John Holden won the 2026 Olivier Award for Best Actor for the London production of KenRex

 I saw KenRex and spoke with actor/writer John Holden last night, and I will have a lot coming down the pike on this. John’s one-man show portrays 30 characters from Skidmore/Nodaway County, including David Baird, Trena McElroy, the Bowencamps, attorney Richard Gene McFadin, and a very scary, sinister, and evil Ken Rex McElroy. The music score is a staged broadcast of KNIM!

There are many inaccuracies in its geography and its description of law enforcement jurisdictions, and it takes considerable artistic license with the characters. John said some Maryville relatives of the characters had seen it in London. I actually think this show gets to the core of the story much better than the “In Broad Daylight” TV movie, as I thought the Brian Dennehy portrayed Ken Rex character was much too likable. The show paints a much more complex narrative of Skidmore, which, in too many narratives, is portrayed as evil. This shows that Skidmore had very unattractive choices after the justice system failed, and it depicts those failures and names names (but not in a shrill way).

An indication of how real the cred is on this show. Holden won an 2026 Olivier Award for Best Actor on April 12 for the show, which is the equivalent of the Tony. He beat out Bryan Canston and Sean Hayes, among others.

Best Actor

• Jack Holden as Performer in Kenrex – The Other Palace‡
  • Bryan Cranston as Joe Keller in All My Sons – Wyndham’s Theatre
  • Sean Hayes as Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar – Barbican Theatre
  • Tom Hiddleston as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
  • David Shields as Jacob Dunne in Punch – Young Vic and Apollo Theatre

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