New dates announced for The Shark is Broken at Ambassadors Theatre

Posted on 1 July 2021

The 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival sell-out smash hit The Shark is Broken is transferring to the West End’s Ambassadors Theatre this Autumn. The producers have announced new dates for the plays strictly limited London season; with performances from 9 October 2021 to 15 January 2022. Co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, this new play takes audiences behind the scenes of the classic blockbuster Jaws. The Shark is Broken tickets are now booking – secure your seats aboard “The Orca” now!

About The Shark is Broken

Sonia Friedman Productions (RE:EMERGE season) has announced the new West End dates for The Shark is Broken after it was postponed last year due to the pandemic. This brilliantly funny and deeply moving play wowed the audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, selling out shows and receiving both critical and public acclaim. This hilarious yet heartwarming play imagines what happens behind the scenes of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Co-written by Robert Shaw’s son Ian Shaw, who also plays the role of his father, and Joseph Nixon. The production is directed by Olivier Award-winning theatre producer and director Guy Masterson, with the full creative team and cast to be announced soon.

What is The Shark is Broken about?

The Shark is Broken is a new play that imagines what happens when the cameras stopped rolling on one of Hollywood’s all-time biggest blockbusters.

Cape Cod, 1974: shooting on ‘Jaws’ has stalled. The film’s lead actors – Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three hammered sharks start to bare their teeth…

The Shark is Broken writer and star; Ian Shaw

Ian Shaw co-wrote the play and will star as his father Robert Shaw. His previous theatre works include War Horse (National Theatre), Common (National Theatre) and Much Ado About Nothing (West End). His TV credits include Wuthering Heights, The Queen and Emmy Award-winning Hiroshima. His film credits include Moondance, The Contract and Johnny English Reborn.

Ian Shaw said:

“I first watched Jaws when I was about eight.  I loved it, even though it terrified me!  Like many others, sharks inhabited my dreams, and swimming was off the menu. Over forty years later, the prospect of playing my father in a play that Joseph and I wrote, and bringing to light the off-screen intrigue and comedy that went into the making of a masterpiece, is a unique and very special one.”

West End The Shark is Broken tickets are now booking!

London audiences won’t want to miss this new play that takes us behind the scenes of the iconic Jaws! Tickets for The Shark is Broken at the Ambassadors Theatre are available now. Book now to secure the best available seats before this play makes serious waves in the West End!

By Jade Ali

A love for theatre stemmed from my love of literature and music, but the West End on my doorstep opened up a whole new appreciation and passion for all things stage-y