WHY THE USS INDIANAPOLIS SPEECH IS THE CROWNING GLORY OF JAWS PLAY, THE SHARK IS BROKEN
Show don't tell. That's what all the screenwriting books tell you.
Jaws is a film that often defies the rules (don't kill children or dogs) and the masterful USS Indianapolis speech delivered by Robert Shaw as Quint, the shark-obsessed captain of the Orca does just that.
To see it on screen, and to hang on each and every word spoken by Robert Shaw, is mesmerising. For many, it is their favourite moment of the film. And to see it writ large on a cinema size screen takes it to yet another level.
In his book, Nigel Andrews on Jaws, the author said: “Jaws without the Indianapolis speech would be like Hamlet without 'To be or not to be'.”
A man sat around a table telling the story of when his ship was attacked by the Japanese, that resulted in the crew going in the water and being attacked by sharks. Filmed today, it would likely feature cutaways galore to the very moments unfolding.
But that is the masterfulness of the scene, the filming and the delivery. It is a film, but it may as well be a piece of theatre.
And now that scene is, it is the climax of The Shark Is Broken. That same blistering monologue, delivered in those familiar tones, although this time almost 50 years later on the London stage, by Robert Shaw's own son, playing him, dressed as Quint.
You get goosebumps from the very first moment that Ian Shaw, looking and sounding exactly like his dad, first appears on the stage. The Shark Is Broken is full of moments like that, which make you hairs stand on end, be it the set of the cutaway Orca or the spot-on performances of Demetri Goritsas as Roy Scheider and Liam Murray Scott as Richard Dreyfuss.
It’s like you are the fourth crew member of the Orca and that you have time-travelled back to the Jaws set on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974. All that you are missing is someone stood to the left of you looking like a young Steven Spielberg.
Speaking to SciFiNow, Ian said of that iconic speech: “It’s a hell of a thing to do the Indianapolis speech. I suppose that was the cornerstone of the play really and the movie. A lot of people who like Jaws love that scene the most… Some fans have said that it gives them chills. It’s just a beautiful speech."
Indeed, Ian Shaw’s performance and the play rises a notch when the collective audience all realise that he is going to do it, he is going to perform the USS Indianapolis speech.
As that realisation dawns an invisible Mexican wave of excitement filters through The Ambassadors Theatre, and as it only seats 500 people it may as well be as if he is telling that tale directly to you.
And that is exactly how these Jaws fans felt, who were all kind enough to share how seeing Ian on stage deliver the USS Indianapolis speech live, made them feel.
Samantha McCrae flew down from Scotland to see the play. It was a flight that was well worth making.
She said: "As a lifelong fan of Jaws, seeing Robert Shaws son Ian filling his father's shoes in this role was truly moving. The light hearted and comedic aspects of the play was beautifully contrasted with the very real passion for the art of acting that the cast showed by allowing us to see behind the camera for one of the most iconic aspects of the movie.
"Ian's performance during the much loved Indianapolis monologue was not only truly moving as a standalone monologue but a powerful homage to his father."
Phil Claydon, filmmaker and author, was also thrilled by seeing Shaw's performance as his dad, delivering that speech.
He said: "Watching Ian Shaw do the Indianapolis speech… It’s a mesmeric tour de force performance… I held my breath as it began… like Robert Shaw possessed the stage for four minutes… it’s raw… unedited… entrancing… recreated with impeccable detail possibly the greatest monologue in cinema history… after seeing this performance on stage I would say it unequivocally is."
Whilst another The Daily Jaws follower, @PollyPoppets on Twitter, said: "The whole play is a joy but, as a huge Jaws fan, to witness Ian deliver THAT speech is something extra special.
"He is absolutely spellbinding and for those few minutes I was actually there, on the Orca, listening to Quint telling us his story. It's such a goosebumps moment & one that you just know you're sharing with the rest of the audience. It's perfect."
And the plaudits keep on coming from fellow Jaws fan, Andrew Sharp. He added: "Seeing that iconic scene brought to life on stage, a scene that gave me goosebumps the first time I saw it on VHS 35 years ago, was an emotional moment.
"The fact it was being delivered by Ian Shaw, who bears such an uncanny likeness to his late father almost transported me back to my bedroom in 1986 when I watched it for the very first time. A magical theatre moment for anyone, but a truly special one for a Jaws fan."
And like Brody and Hooper in the film, we each hang on every word. Make no bones about it, this is a seminal moment for any fan of Jaws, or theatre for that matter. And anyone who has seen it on stage will never forget it, and as such it is like a pseudo-religious moment and totally and utterly captivating. You know the words, the delivery, the pauses – but this is something else.
It is unforgettably brilliant and leaves you full of emotion, no doubt on more than one occasion it has got a bit dusty in there – unless you have lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes that is.
Thanks to Robert Shaw, and now Ian Shaw, that speech confounds film law and is less show don’t tell and instead is triumphantly Shaw do tell. And we could listen to it all day.
Words by Dean Newman
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The Shark Is Broken has its final performance at The Ambassadors Theatre on Sunday 13 February 2022.