What happened on board The Orca when the cameras stopped rolling during the filming of Steven Spielberg’s epic movie?

Oxford Playhouse is to be the first stop on the national tour of West End smash hit The Shark is Broken. Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, the play celebrates the iconic blockbuster Jaws 50 years on.

It will open at the Beaumont Street venue on Thursday, January 23 and run until Saturday 25.

Inspired by star 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.

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.

Co-writer Ian Shaw stars in the production as his father Robert, alongside Dan Fredenburgh as Roy Scheider and Ashley Margolis as Richard Dreyfuss.

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.

Presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, GFour Productions and Kenny Wax, Martha Geelan directs the tour of The Shark Is Broken, based on original direction by Guy Masterson. Set and costume design is by Duncan Henderson, with lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Adam Cork, and video design by NinaDunn. The assistant director is Molly Stacey, and the associate sound designer is James Melling.

Tickets for The Shark Is Broken at Oxford Playhouse start from £14 and are available at the box office on 01865 305305 or to book online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com