Just walking into the theatre and seeing Quint’s boat as part of a movie set gives us a frisson of excitement. The anticipation, as we wait for it to start, watching the projected moving seascape scenes outlined as three frames of film reel is not unlike watching the beginning of the film Jaws where we all know something is going to happen, we just don’t know what yet. The opening of the play with the familiar music and suddenly unexpected juxtaposed imagery gives an incredibly funny and perfect opening: it’s hard to imagine anything else working as well.
What’s really amazing about this production is how the three actors: Ian Shaw, Dan Fredenburgh and Ashley Margolis just are Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss, who fans will know as their characters: Quint, Brodie and Hooper. We only really know these characters they portray in the film and are dying to find out what went on behind the scenes; and in between takes we see their relationships develop as Robert, Roy and Richard, moving through the whole spectrum of connection with each other from irritation and annoyance into eventually, reluctant respect. Their bickering is a mirror for the bickering Quint and Hooper show in the film Jaws, with Brodie as the peacemaker, and as this is co-written by Robert Shaw’s son based on a diary he kept at the time, you find yourself hoping that what you see is a true reflection.
There is so much appetite for behind the scenes information on films and TV and Jaws is of course iconic now: ground-breaking at the time, and definitely a different kind of film; as they muse over in the play. We dearly want to see the extras we haven’t seen before and this acts as a giant souvenir for fans of the film: showing the actors’ camaraderie, their caring disguised as disgruntled behaviour and their appreciation of each other. The roles they adopt as people thrown together in boredom waiting continually for Bruce the shark to be fixed so they could shoot scenes echo their on screen relationships in the film and this is hugely enjoyable to see.
It’s also hilariously funny in so many places, not least of which are the references to world events and to other films that came after: such as Richard Dreyfuss being keen on doing another Spielberg movie after Jaws wraps, but they are not sure that a film about good aliens will do well. Of course we know now that Close Encounters was another ground-breaking Spielberg film. The quips about movies just becoming sequels upon sequels and remake upon remakes garner a satisfied and knowing murmured laugh from the audience, including the references to Jaws sequels, and that there really shouldn’t be any. It’s also a poignant reminder to us all that we ultimately have no idea what legacy we leave behind: they think they are making a ‘turkey’, they laugh about it being forgotten in 50 years time yet here we are, looking at every scrap of information we can about one of the greatest movies of all time.
Playing real people is tricky, especially three people from such an incredibly famous film that the public feel they own; yet these three actors make it look easy. When Ian Shaw appears as his father Robert Shaw there is an audible gasp from the audience because of how alike they look. The tension, the fun they make of one another, the rub of being from such completely different walks of life that they struggle to make sense of each other yet they have moments of true connection and compassion and poignancy as well: all giving us such a lovely insight into their world. The final scene and the build towards it are so satisfying it’s a giant super gift for everyone watching. A wonderful, eccentric and unique piece of theatre, beautifully written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, and with huge production values: a must watch for any fans of the film which inspired it.
Theatre Royal Brighton, 7 April 2025
The Shark Is Broken runs until 12 April 2025
Photos credit: Manuel Harlan, Helen Maybanks
