The Shark is Broken review [Melbourne]

Tense, funny, insightful, and terrifically entertaining, The Shark is Broken takes the audience behind the scenes on the fraught filming of cinema’s original US summer blockbuster, Jaws. First seen in the UK in 2019, the West End run of The Shark is Broken was delayed until late 2021, with a Broadway season following in 2023. Timing for this Australian premiere tour benefits from interest sparked by the fascinating 2025 documentary Jaws @ 50 The Definitive Inside Story (Disney+). The Shark is Broken places the audience as a fly on the wall (or, perhaps, as a seagull in flight) while filming of Jaws drags on while mechanical shark, nicknamed “Bruce,” is not working. Leading men Roy Scheider (Chief Brody in the film), Richard Dreyfuss (marine biologist Hooper), and Robert Shaw (shark hunter Quint) bicker, drink, bellyache, gamble, and laugh as they pass the time getting on and off each other’s nerves. Ian Shaw, son of Robert Shaw, penned the play along with co-playwright Joseph Nixon.…