Jack Holden – författare

Nominated for the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Play Set in London’s Soho in the 1980s, Cruise tells the story of what should have been Michael Spencer’s last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he’s told by doctors that he has just four years to live, so as the clock runs down, Michael decides to go out in style. As he parties and bids final farewells to his friends, the clock strikes zero and Michael… survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living?Jack Holden’s debut play Cruise is a kaleidoscopic new monologue celebrating queer culture and paying tribute to a generation of gay men lost to the AIDS crisis. This edition was published to coincide with its West End production in May 2021.

Nominated for the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Play Set in London''s Soho in the 1980s, Cruise tells the story of what should have been Michael Spencer''s last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he''s told by doctors that he has just four years to live, so as the clock runs down, Michael decides to go out in style. As he parties and bids final farewells to his friends, the clock strikes zero and Michael… survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living?Jack Holden''s debut play Cruise is a kaleidoscopic new monologue celebrating queer culture and paying tribute to a generation of gay men lost to the AIDS crisis. This edition was published to coincide with its West End production in May 2021.

Nominated for the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Play Set in London''s Soho in the 1980s, Cruise tells the story of what should have been Michael Spencer''s last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he''s told by doctors that he has just four years to live, so as the clock runs down, Michael decides to go out in style. As he parties and bids final farewells to his friends, the clock strikes zero and Michael… survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living?Jack Holden''s debut play Cruise is a kaleidoscopic new monologue celebrating queer culture and paying tribute to a generation of gay men lost to the AIDS crisis. This edition was published to coincide with its West End production in May 2021.

‘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.

''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.

''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.

I can’t explain it. I can’t explain any of it to you. The line of beauty which led me to him… to here.London. Summer, 1983.Nick Guest moves into the grand Notting Hill home of his university friend Toby — and into the dazzling world of Toby’s father Gerald, a newly elected Tory MP, his elegant wife Rachel, and their troubled daughter Cat. From private gardens to country estates, glittering parties to political dinners, Nick is swept up in a world of money, power and privilege. A world that promises everything — and exacts a cost.As he pursues beauty in all its forms, Nick finds himself caught between the freedoms of desire and the rigid boundaries of class, sexuality and public image in a rapidly changing Britain.Olivier Award nominee Jack Holden’s (Cruise; Kenrex) new adaptation of The Line of Beauty is a captivating portrait of Thatcher’s Britain at its most decadent and divisive, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production at the Almeida Theatre in October 2025.

I can't explain it. I can't explain any of it to you. The line of beauty which led me to him to here.London. Summer, 1983.Nick Guest moves into the grand Notting Hill home of his university friend Toby - and into the dazzling world of Toby's father Gerald, a newly elected Tory MP, his elegant wife Rachel, and their troubled daughter Cat. From private gardens to country estates, glittering parties to political dinners, Nick is swept up in a world of money, power and privilege. A world that promises everything - and exacts a cost.As he pursues beauty in all its forms, Nick finds himself caught between the freedoms of desire and the rigid boundaries of class, sexuality and public image in a rapidly changing Britain.Olivier Award nominee Jack Holden's (Cruise; Kenrex) new adaptation of The Line of Beauty is a captivating portrait of Thatcher's Britain at its most decadent and divisive, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production at the Almeida Theatre in October 2025.

I can't explain it. I can't explain any of it to you. The line of beauty which led me to him to here.London. Summer, 1983.Nick Guest moves into the grand Notting Hill home of his university friend Toby - and into the dazzling world of Toby's father Gerald, a newly elected Tory MP, his elegant wife Rachel, and their troubled daughter Cat. From private gardens to country estates, glittering parties to political dinners, Nick is swept up in a world of money, power and privilege. A world that promises everything - and exacts a cost.As he pursues beauty in all its forms, Nick finds himself caught between the freedoms of desire and the rigid boundaries of class, sexuality and public image in a rapidly changing Britain.Olivier Award nominee Jack Holden's (Cruise; Kenrex) new adaptation of The Line of Beauty is a captivating portrait of Thatcher's Britain at its most decadent and divisive, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production at the Almeida Theatre in October 2025.

Nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2026 Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026'911, what’s your emergency?’‘My husband... they shot him... they all did.’July 10th, 1981, Missouri. Smalltown bully, Ken Rex McElroy rules Skidmore with an iron fist. His ten-year reign of terror has involved theft, intimidation, assault, abduction and attempted murder but, thanks to his slippery defence attorney and the rusty cogs of the American justice system, Ken has never spent a night behind bars.But, when Ken shoots pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp, and leaves him for dead, the good folk of Skidmore decide that enough is enough. If the courts won’t bring Ken to heel, they will.KENREX is the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control — part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack.After a smash-hit premiere at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024, KENREX later transferred to the Southwark Playhouse in February 2025. This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the 2025/26 London run at The Other Palace.

Nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2026 Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026'911, what's your emergency?'My husband... they shot him... they all did.'July 10th, 1981, Missouri. Smalltown bully, Ken Rex McElroy rules Skidmore with an iron fist. His ten-year reign of terror has involved theft, intimidation, assault, abduction and attempted murder but, thanks to his slippery defence attorney and the rusty cogs of the American justice system, Ken has never spent a night behind bars.But, when Ken shoots pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp, and leaves him for dead, the good folk of Skidmore decide that enough is enough. If the courts won't bring Ken to heel, they will.KENREX is the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control - part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack.After a smash-hit premiere at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024, KENREX later transferred to the Southwark Playhouse in February 2025. This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the 2025/26 London run at The Other Palace.

Nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2026 Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026'911, what's your emergency?'My husband... they shot him... they all did.'July 10th, 1981, Missouri. Smalltown bully, Ken Rex McElroy rules Skidmore with an iron fist. His ten-year reign of terror has involved theft, intimidation, assault, abduction and attempted murder but, thanks to his slippery defence attorney and the rusty cogs of the American justice system, Ken has never spent a night behind bars.But, when Ken shoots pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp, and leaves him for dead, the good folk of Skidmore decide that enough is enough. If the courts won't bring Ken to heel, they will.KENREX is the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control - part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack.After a smash-hit premiere at Sheffield Crucible in October 2024, KENREX later transferred to the Southwark Playhouse in February 2025. This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the 2025/26 London run at The Other Palace.