Three men trapped on a film set plagued by sea sickness, substance abuse and an unreliable mechanical shark - what could possibly go wrong?

Olivier Award-nominated play The Shark is Broken takes audiences behind the scenes of one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, riddled with technical hiccups and battling egos.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was unleashed in cinemas 50 years ago and became a roaring success. It was the highest-grossing film of all time and won three Academy Awards, but, as we learn in this 90-minute comedy, the actors weren’t convinced it would be a hit.

We are introduced to the film’s three leading men – cynical thespian Robert Shaw, aspiring young actor Richard Dreyfuss and level-headed everyman Roy Scheider – as they settle down for another day aboard the Orca.

The actors were crammed onto the fishing boat for weeks, waiting for the perfect conditions to shoot their next scene with only each other and the occasional cameraman for company.

Ian Shaw, the son of Robert, who played Jaws’ grizzled shark hunter Quint, used his father’s stories from the set to write the play, giving fans a glimpse of what happened when the cameras stopped rolling.

Ian also portrays his father in the play, making for an uncanny lookalike. While he is blessed by genetics in his ability to mirror the famed Shakespearean actor, Dan Fredenburgh (Roy Scheider) and Ashley Margolis (Robert Shaw) are equally well-matched to their on-screen counterparts.

Much like the film itself, the shark is by no means the star of the show. It’s all about the three men and their relationship with themselves, each other and the film industry.

We learn about Roy’s early days as a teen boxer and his fascination with the daily news; Richard’s crippling self-doubt and quest to find fame; and Robert’s alcoholism and yearning for days gone by.

Tension often rises between Robert and Richard, who famously had many a heated argument on set, fuelled by bottles of Scotch and competitive bar games, while Roy does his best to keep the crew ticking over until the end of the shoot.

The three of them hold the audience in the palm of their hands with dialogue alone; there’s no elaborate set changes, no swanky special effects, no jazzy musical numbers. It all relies on the dynamic between the three men, but it’s electric from start to finish.

The writing is excellent, switching seamlessly from laugh-out-loud comedy to blazing rows to poignant stories shared between friends.

There are plenty of nods to the film. We hear arguably the movie’s most quoted line (Chief Brody’s ad-libbed “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”) and get to see Quint’s heart-stopping USS Indianapolis monologue, but the play cleverly dodges running into too much fan service.

If you’re a Jaws fan, then this is a must-see, but even if you don’t fancy yourself as much of a film buff, it’s a brilliant 90-minute comedy about three blokes on a small boat trying not to throw each other overboard. As far as I’m concerned, that’s an evening well spent.

The Shark is Broken is at the Marlowe Theatre until Saturday, March 15. You can book tickets online here.

You can also book tickets by calling 01227 787787.