The Shark is Broken – Newcastle Theatre Royal

Writers: Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw

Director: Martha Geelan, after Guy Masterson

Just when you thought it was safe you go back to the theatre along swims The Shark is Broken to the Theatre Royal Newcastle this week. This play is based on the behind the scenes, and previously unknown events, of the making of the movie Jaws.

The 1975 movie of Jaws, a thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel by Peter Benchley, won many awards at the 1976 Academy Awards. It is also listed in the Top Ten Greatest Films of All Times. It’s the film that made everyone afraid to swim in the ocean again. However this play will make you want to return for more as it’s witty dialogue captures the audience as they are taken through a journey behind the scenes of a film which is delayed again and again by the malfunctioning of the mechanical shark, ‘Bruce’.

The play is co written by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw, who is the son of Robert Shaw. Robert Shaw was the leading actor in Jaws, making this play a fitting tribute to his father. Ian Shaw also plays his father in the play and the uncanny likeness is eerie. This is a three hander and the other two characters are the actors Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider. Dreyfuss is played by Ashley Margolis and Scheider is played by Dan Fredenburgh.

The play begins with the iconic them tune from the film Jaws and immediately sets the heart racing as the memory is jogged and visions of the man eating shark appear in ones mind eye. Thus creating a ripple of nervous laughter amongst tonight’s audience. However this play is not a thriller but a laugh out loud comedy portraying three very different characters.

The three characters are well defined. Shaw is full of witty banter, knowledgeable and a drunkard. Dreyfuss is an ego centric, easily offended and ambitious. Scheider is the peace maker with a head full of facts. These three very different characters provide a melting pot of witticisms, squabbles and friendship.

The scene is set on half a boat, the Orca, which gives a realistic feel of being on the ocean aided by a panoramic, ever slowly moving backdrop. This was well lit by Nina Dunn for video and Jon Clark for the lighting. The cramped conditions on the boat are created by set and costume designer Duncan Henderson. The set is centre stage and the cramped half boat creates a claustrophobic effect.

It is a clever script with plenty of sharp dialogue making for many laugh out loud moments. Many of the incidents are based on fact. The main recurring incident being the failure of the shark. The salt water was apparently problematic as it had originally been designed in a fresh water tank. The mechanical shark is never seen and in fact the only time a shark is ever seen is a brief glimpse of a fin in the video backdrop. There are many anecdotes thrown into the melting pot of banter, creating laugh out loud moments such as a reference to Richard Nixon being the ‘most corrupt President we will ever see’. This created one of the many ripples of laughter from the audience. The fact that this was 90 minutes of non stop dialogue, without an interval, kept the audience engaged was a credit to not only the cast but the direction of Martha Geelan, after Guy Masterson’s original direction. The smooth, seamless transition between each scene was expertly done.

This play is an entertaining look behind the scenes of an epic film and if you are a fan of Jaws or not you won’t want to miss this one.

Runs until 22nd March 2025.