Ian Shaw stars as his father, Robert Shaw, alongside Dan Fredenburgh as Roy Scheider and Ashley Margolis as Richard Dreyfuss.
Casting has been announced for the UK and Ireland tour of The Shark Is Broken, the behind- the-scenes West End and Broadway hit comedy about the making of the movie Jaws. Ian Shaw stars as his father, Robert Shaw, alongside Dan Fredenburgh as Roy Scheider and Ashley Margolis as Richard Dreyfuss.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1975 iconic blockbuster, the critically acclaimed Olivier award-nominated play, The Shark Is Broken, co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, opens on tour at Oxford Playhouse on Thursday 23 January, visiting a further 14 venues culminating with a week at The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin until 17 May 2025. Tickets are on sale.
Inspired by Robert Shaw’s experience playing ‘Quint’ in Jaws, The Shark Is Broken is the brilliantly funny play which celebrates movie history as it peeks at the choppy waters behind Hollywood’s first blockbuster and imagines what happened on board ‘The Orca’ when the cameras stopped rolling during the filming of Steven Spielberg’s epic movie.
FADE IN: The open ocean, 1974. Filming is delayed... again. The lead actors - theatre veteran Robert Shaw and young Hollywood hotshots Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider - are crammed into a too-small boat, entirely at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Alcohol flows, egos collide, and tempers flare on a chaotic voyage that just might lead to cinematic magic... if it doesn’t sink them all.
Following its critical and sell-out success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, The Shark Is Broken transferred to the West End in 2021 playing at the Ambassadors Theatre for a limited season where it enjoyed an extended run due to huge popular demand and an Olivier award nomination for Best Comedy Play. In July 2023 the production transferred to Broadway for a 16-week run at the John Golden Theatre where it garnered fresh critical acclaim.
Martha Geelan directs the tour of The Shark Is Broken, based on original direction by Guy Masterson, set and costume design by Duncan Henderson, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Adam Cork, video design by Nina Dunn. Assistant director Molly Stacey, associate sound designer James Melling.
Thu 23 – Sat 25 January
OXFORD Playhouse
11-12 Beaumont St, Oxford OX1 2LW
Box Office: 01865 305305 | oxfordplayhouse.com
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mat: Sat 2.30pm
Tue 28 Jan – Sat 1 February
MALVERN Theatres
Grange Road, Great Malvern, Worcs WR14 3HB
Box Office: 01684 892277 | malvern-theatres.co.uk
Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Tue 4 – Sat 8 February
SALFORD The Lowry
Pier 8, The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ
Box Office: 0161 876 2000 | thelowry.com
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2pm
Mon 17 – Sat 22 February
RICHMOND Theatre
Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ
Box Office: atgtickets.com/Richmond
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Wed 26 Feb – Sat 1 March
NOTTINGHAM Theatre Royal
Theatre Square, Nottingham NG1 5ND
Box Office: 0115 989 5555 | trch.co.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu 2pm, Sat 2.30pm
Mon 3 – Sat 8 March
BATH Theatre Royal
Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET
Box Office: 01224 448844 | theatreroyal.org.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Tue 11 – Sat 15 March
CANTERBURY Marlowe Theatre
The Friars, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2AS
Box Office: 01227 787787 | marlowetheatre.com
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Tue 18 – Sat 22 March
Newcastle Theatre Royal
100 Grey Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6BR
Box Office: 0191 232 7010 | theatreroyal.co.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu 2pm, Sat 2.30pm
Mon 24 – Sat 29 March
GUILDFORD Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Millbrook, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3UX
Box Office: 01483 44 00 00 | yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Mon 31 Mar – Sat 5 April
PLYMOUTH Theatre Royal Plymouth
Royal Parade, Plymouth PL1 2TR
Box Office: 01752 267222 | theatreroyal.com
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Mon 7 – Sat 12 April
BRIGHTON Theatre Royal
New Road, Brighton BN1 1SD
Box Office: atgtickets.com/Brighton
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Tue 22 – Sat 26 April
CHELTENHAM Everyman Theatre
7-10 Regent St, Cheltenham GL50 1HQ
Box Office: 01242 572573 | everymantheatre.org.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Wed, Fri & Sat 2pm
Tue 29 Apr – Sat 3 May
POOLE Lighthouse
21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1UG
Box Office: 01202 280000 | lighthousepoole.co.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.45pm, Mats: Wed & Sat 2.30pm
Tue 6 – Sat 10 May
BIRMINGHAM The Rep
Broad St, Birmingham B1 2EP
Box Office: 0121 236 4455 | birmingham-rep.co.uk
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Tue13 – Sat 17 May
DUBLIN, IRELAND The Gaiety
King St S, Dublin 2, Ireland
Box Office: gaietytheatre.ie
Performance Times: Eves: 7.30pm, Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm
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