The Shark Is Broken Will Bow at California's Laguna Playhouse

The play taking audiences behind the scenes of one of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters comes to the West Coast.

February 11, 2026 By Meg Masseron

Gildart Jackson, Will Block, Adam Poole (Jason Niedle)

Three years after its Broadway run, The Shark is Broken will arrive in Laguna Beach, California with the The Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara’s production, running at Laguna Playhouse March 4-22. An official opening night is set for March 8.

The cast will feature Will Block as Richard Dreyfuss, Gildart Jackson as Robert Shaw, and Adam Pool as Roy Schneider. Pesha Rudnick is directing. Get a first look at the production with the photo gallery below.

Written by Ian Shaw (son of Jaws cast member and The Shark Is Broken character Robert Shaw) and Joseph Nixon, the work takes audiences behind the scenes of one of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters as its three stars try to cope with foul weather, a temperamental mechanical shark, and each other's egos. The play premiered at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, later playing London's West End and, in 2023, Broadway.

The production will feature set design by Fred Kinney, lighting design by Michael Klaers, costume design by Adriana Lambarri, sound design by Jazer Sibley-Schwartz, props by Alex Johnston, and fight coordination by Sean O’Shea.

For tickets and more information, visit here.