An interesting story lies somewhere inside The Shark Is Broken. After 90 minutes aboard the Orca, however, the biggest question we were left asking was: why tell this particular one?
Set during the famously troubled filming of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, the play imagines actors Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss stuck together aboard the Orca while waiting for the film’s notoriously unreliable mechanical shark to work. Given the legendary stories surrounding the making of one of cinema’s most influential films, there should be plenty of material to sink your teeth into.
Anyone hoping to discover more about the making of Jaws may find themselves wanting more. What we essentially discover is that three actors with varying neuroses occasionally annoyed each other, and the shark rarely worked. Then it didn’t work some more.
The script explores masculinity, ego, insecurity, alcoholism and the complicated relationships between the three actors, with some genuinely interesting moments along the way. As a comedy, though, it never quite finds its bite. Apart from around half a dozen chuckles scattered throughout the audience, there wasn’t a great deal of laughter to be heard.
Director Luke Joslin does a solid job with the material, keeping the three actors moving and the relationships shifting within an intentionally confined space. There is a genuine sense of three very different personalities trapped together with nowhere else to go, and the production works best when it allows their contrasting personalities to bounce off one another.
James Browne’s set and costume design is one of the production’s strongest elements. The recreation of the Orca immediately transports us onto the boat and creates an impressively claustrophobic environment.
A word of warning, however, for anyone prone to seasickness. The projections create the constant sensation of the boat rocking on the ocean, and, by the end, it felt like half the audience might have benefited from a packet of Travacalm.
The three actors give the production everything they have and bounce off each other extremely well. Robin Goldsworthy captures the anxiety and depression of Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Gooley brings a gruff charisma to the functioning alcoholic Robert Shaw, while Tom Stokes provides a welcome contrast as the comparatively optimistic Roy Scheider. Together they create believable chemistry and find moments of warmth and humour throughout.
It is genuinely great to see more touring plays reaching Australian stages, whether the motivation behind them is artistic, financial or somewhere comfortably between the two. There is clearly an audience for recognisable stories like The Shark Is Broken, and seeing three accomplished actors tackling these iconic Hollywood personalities makes for an interesting night at the theatre.
But recognisable subject matter can only take a production so far. Producers also need to hedge their bets on scripts that are every bit as compelling as the stories and famous names used to sell them.
Jaws famously proved you don’t need to see much of the shark to make something thrilling.
The Shark Is Broken has the boat, the actors and plenty of talent aboard. We just wanted a little more bite.
– The other Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig is an international performer and has established himself as a trusted theatre specialist on the Sydney Arts Scene. While he understands the technical side of theatre, Dan writes for the everyday theatregoer (unlike some of those more prominent publications). When not in the audience, he loves to travel the world and try new gins.
The Shark is Broken runs for 90 minutes (no interval) and plays at the Foundry Theatre through 11 October 2026. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
Disclosure: The Plus Ones were guests of Jessica Bendell Publicity
Image credit: David Hooley
