Cast of play about Jaws invited to spend time in the tank with real sharks

Shark experts at Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium have been setting the record straight as a new plays opens telling the story of Jaws.

The cast of the Theatre Royal's ''The Shark is Broken' were taken to dive in the tank and among those taking the plunge were the writer of the show - and son of original actor Robert Shaw, who went to Truro School.

Curator Marcus Williams said: "Some people have got a bit of a misconception about sharks they think they are these nasty animals that eat people but they're not - they are quite docile animals really. They play a really, really important role and they're really quite intelligent."

He added: "They always know when we have a new diver going into the tank because sharks have got the ability to pick up electrical impulses and when your heat beats it creates an electrical impulse - and we have a new diver into the tank their heart is always going a little bit faster!"

The Shark Is Broken stars Ian Shaw as his father Robert Shaw, alongside Dan Fredenburgh as Roy Scheider and Ashley Margolis as Richard Dreyfuss.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1975 iconic blockbuster, The Shark Is Broken tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the cast spent hours each day filming on a small boat for 16 weeks and, as the mechanical shark continually broke down, so too did the relationships between the actors.

Robert, who attended Truro School, was one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, starring on stage as well as in Hollywood films. Ian, who co-wrote the play with Joseph Nixon, was cautious to carve his own path away from his dad, but as a film fan, he felt it was important to share the thrilling history of the iconic film.

“I’d spent my life trying not to be associated with my dad, as most children of famous people tend to do,” says Shaw.

“You want to carve your own path, so I was wary of that. But I’m obsessed with films and I’m obsessed with the story of filmmaking. This was a particularly juicy story. I just imagined three men stuck on this boat, marooned out in the water.

"Something about that idea appealed to me. I’ve reached a point now where I guess the comparison with my dad doesn’t matter so much. I’m also at the same age as my dad when he was doing Jaws, and I just feel less sensitive about the comparison now.”

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.