CAST ANNOUNCED FOR
THE SHARK IS BROKEN
By Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon
When the shark won’t work, the drama does
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Evening Standard
★ ★ ★ ★ The Times
★ ★ ★ ★ The Telegraph
Producers have announced casting for the Australian debut of the Olivier Award nominated THE SHARK IS BROKEN, which will make its Sydney and Melbourne from August 2026. The cast includes Robin Goldsworthy as Richard Dreyfuss, Anthony Gooley as Robert Shaw and Tom Stokes as Roy Scheider.
This fictional piece centred around the making of JAWS is described as “hilariously brilliant and pure genius” (Sunday Express, ★★★★★) and has been co-written by Ian Shaw, the son of JAWS actor Robert Shaw.
THE SHARK IS BROKEN is a razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud play about fame, failure, and friendship under pressure – an edgy, once is a lifetime theatrical treat that proves the biggest drama was never in the water.
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.
Robin Goldsworthy’s extensive acting credits include television series Sunny Nights; Home and Away; Bump; Wolf Like Me; Wellmania; Colin From Accounts; The Other Guy; The Letdown; Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo and many more.
Highlighted theatre credits include Cyrano (Melbourne Theatre Company); Hamlet (Bell Shakespeare); Loot and Our Town (Sydney Theatre Company) and The Web (Black Swan State Theatre Company).
Tom Stokes has enjoyed an extensive international and local career in film, TV and on stage, which includes working for every state theatre company in Australia.
He most recently completed a national tour of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None directed by Robyn Nevin (Crossroads Live). Other selected theatre credits including the Death of a Salesman national tour alongside Anthony Lapaglia (GWB Productions/Andrew Henry Presents); Pygmalion (Sydney Theatre Company); Sunday (Melbourne Theatre Company); In the Next Room – The Vibrator Play (Black Swan State Theatre Company) and Romeo & Juliet (Bell Shakespeare).
Highlights of Anthony Gooley’s many theatre credits include Calamity Jane; Drizzle Boy; Bernhardt Hamlet and Boy Swallows Universe (all for Queensland Theatre Company); The Caretaker; A View from the Bridge and Death Of A Salesman (for Ensemble Theatre); Calamity Jane (Belvoir/The Comedy Theatre/Arts Centre Melbourne); The Glass Menagerie (State Theatre Company of South Australia); Assassins (Sydney Opera House/Hayes Theatre Co.); Replay (Griffin Theatre Company) and The Lost Echo (Sydney Theatre Company).
Anthony will next appear in Apples Never Fall for Peacock with other television credits including Young Rock (NBC); Joe Vs Carole (Peacock); Sheilas; Australia: The Story of Us; Underbelly; Packed to the Rafters; Tough Nuts; Satisfaction and Home and Away.
“Sensational! In between jokes and tasty movie trivia, this is a story of fathers, sons, mortality and legacy” Mashable
“So vivid you can almost smell the salt air” Deadline
StoreyBoard Entertainment & Stoddart Entertainment Group presents THE SHARK IS BROKEN
Starring Robin Goldsworthy, Anthony Gooley and Tom Stokes
Foundry Theatre (at the Sydney Lyric Theatre)
Friday 28 August to Sunday 11 October 2026
Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
Thursday 15 October to Sunday 8 November 2026
Creative Team
Luke Joslin – Director
James Browne – Set and Costume Design
Lighting Design – Jasmine Rizk
Original Music – Sean Peter
Cameron Smith – Video Design
Production Manager – Alex Duffy
Tickets from $75
For further information visit https://sharkisbroken.com.au or follow us on Instagram and facebook @sharkisbrokenau
