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- 14th Feb 2025
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Dive into this West End comedy that exposes Jaws’ filming drama at Newcastle Theatre Royal
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“I'm not somebody who believes in spiritual things very much, but there's definitely a dialogue between me and my dad before I go on stage”
Ian Shaw
The Shark is Broken has already made waves in the West End and now it’s set to come to Newcastle Theatre Royal.
Catch a glimpse of this smash hit comedy when it visits Newcastle from Tuesday 18th – Saturday 22nd March 2025.
The Shark is Broken is hitting the road for a UK tour after killing it on the West End and Broadway. The comedic play takes you right into those long, tense breaks during the filming of Jaws. It dives into the wild dynamics between the movie’s three stars – Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw – who were stuck on a tiny boat called the Orca for 16 weeks, with pretty much nothing to do but get on each other’s nerves.
Here’s everything you need to know…
A BOAT, A MALFUNCTIONING SHARK AND A LOAD OF LAUGHS
We’ve all watched the iconic blockbuster Jaws (1975) which at the time wasn’t anything like the film industry had seen before. But now, legendary actor Robert Shaw’s son and co-writer Ian Shaw is here to reveal all the hilarious behind-the-scenes drama — from mechanical sharks breaking down and boats sinking to fierce arguments between actors and daily script changes.
“I’d spent my life trying not to be associated with my dad, as most children of famous people tend to do,” says Ian.
“You want to carve your own path, so I was wary of that. But I’m obsessed with films and with the story of filmmaking. I just imagined three men stuck on this boat, marooned out in the water. Something about that idea appealed to me. I’ve reached a point now where I guess the comparison with my dad doesn’t matter so much. I’m also at the same age as my dad when he was doing Jaws.”
But almost as soon as he started thinking about the idea, Ian lost faith. “I thought it might be in poor taste to play my father and to portray him like that, so I put it in a drawer. It wasn’t until a while later that I had a pint with a friend who thought it was a good idea, so I looked at it again. My wife and family all thought it was interesting. So, I decided that I should take the risk.”
MAKING WAVES WITH GLOWING REVIEWS
The Shark is Broken’s success started at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe back in 2019, earning glowing reviews and quickly landing runs on both the West End and Broadway.
Now, the show’s gearing up for a UK tour, and Ian’s suiting up once again – moustache and cap included – to channel his uncanny resemblance to his dad.
“It’s a funny thing, being there in the dressing room and looking in the mirror before I go on, doing a bit of the famous Indianapolis speech from the film that my late father helped to write, just to make sure that I feel in character,” Ian says.
“I’m not somebody who believes in spiritual things very much, but there’s definitely a dialogue between me and my dad before I go on stage,” Ian adds. “It’s not like anything I’ve ever done in my life before”
Newcastle Theatre Royal, 100 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6BR
Rachael Ellis
Creative Solutions Manager
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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