When one thinks of Jaws, they don’t necessarily think of an existentialist dilemma but this is what they got with The Shark Is Broken, which was promised as a comedy but really felt much more serious in tone than that. Attracting in many fans of the 1975 movie, the play is set on the set of Jaws in the middle of the ocean, where actors Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are attempting to work on their scenes with a mechanical shark, which always seems to keep breaking down.

This means that the three have ample time to explore each other’s company and get to know each other in a fairly unique environment and results in plenty of humour in the interactions between the three characters, with much of the humour around physical comedy and the crazy interactions between the three especially in terms of drinking and games. The humour works very well to punctuate the production but it is ultimately quite a serious production about loss, addiction and sadness, all with an existential overtone, as the actors seek to find their belonging in their world.

What makes this production strong is the performances of the cast, with Robin Goldsworthy exceptionally funny in his caricature of Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Gooley excellent as Robert Shaw and Tom Stokes brilliant as Roy Scheider, with the three really playing off each other, bringing the audience into the world exquisitely. They bring out the beauty in what is quite a dry script that would easily become quite boring if the actors were not so polished.

Luke Joslin’s direction is also excellent in this regard as it gives energy to the production and ensures that it keeps pace to keep the audience engaged. Another star of this show is the set, with James Browne doing an excellent job of making the set feel almost experiential, with Cameron Smith’s video projections helping to ensure that the movement on the boat feels quite lifelike, with the audience feeling part of the action. In some ways, it almost feels like a ride at Disneyland or Movie World at times, with the mist coming out at various points to generally brush the audience in water to make them feel like they’re on the sea, which is a nice touch. Jasmine Rizk’s lighting and Sean Peter’s sound design are also strong, with the iconic Jaws theme punctuating the show although a little bit more music would have been perhaps welcome.

The ultimate problem with this piece is that it feels like a serious production with a serious message on the set of Jaws, which in effect means that it’s trying to be two plays and not quite nailing either. With much of the audience kitted out in Jaws merch, it was clear who this play was appealing to but many actually walked out throughout the show, clearly expecting to see something more related to Jaws rather than a tangential relationship to Jaws, which really felt like an excuse for an existential play.

There was nothing wrong with this per se but it felt like it was trying to be something it wasn’t and it was stuck between two places, which was a shame because it definitely had promise. The existentiality of the play was intriguing but the fact that it was on the set of Jaws didn’t really add anything apart from giving three ready-made characters and a storyline which was largely based on a true story. Perhaps if there were more critical analysis or more context provided, this could have alleviated this issue but it did feel like this would have been better just as a standalone play without the references to Jaws at times.

Overall, this is a solid play, which has some really interesting ideas and is a unique and unusual premise but ultimately it feels like it is lacking a little bit in criticality and the relationship to Jaws is trifling at best. The acting is strong and the special effects are fantastic but there is a feeling of something slightly missing at the end of the production. It is definitely interesting and definitely worth a watch but I have a feeling this will appeal more to regular theatre goers than Jaws fans.

Rating: ★★★1/2

The Shark is Broken plays at the Foundry Theatre until 11 October before touring nationally. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: David Hooley