Review: The Shark Arm Case at Justice and Police Museum

Review by Anja Bless

An old Sydney legend has been brought to life in a sensational setting through the Deadhouse and Museums of History NSW co-production, The Shark Arm Case. This immersive theatre experience leads the audience through the offices and courthouses of the Justice and Police Museum to tell the tales of corruption, betrayal, and speed chases that surrounded the appearance of a human arm that was regurgitated by a tiger shark at the Coogee Aquarium in 1935.  

A perfect night-out for those who love a mystery or true crime drama, The Shark Arm Case gives audiences a glimpse of crime and punishment in Great Depression Sydney, where police would take almost any measure in the search for answers and crimes conducted by the city’s wealthiest gangsters were all too easy to get away with. The arm in question, belonging to police informant Jim Smith (Steve Maresca), sets off a series of events that embroil supposedly respectable businessmen from Lavender Bay, a family holiday in a beachside cottage in Cronulla, and the ambitions of Detective Sergeant Frank Matthews (Mark Stokes), who will take almost any means to solve a case – even if that means breaking the law himself. Each act of the production is held in a different room, giving the audience a chance to be surrounded by tales of crime from Sydney’s history, or to sit in the jury docks of a courtroom as witnesses give their statements. This setting helps to bring the play and story to life, and presents a new way to experience the museum itself. It helps that the movement between rooms is expertly and deftly guided by the story’s narrator, one of the managers of the Coogee Aquarium (Kyla Lee Ward), who keeps the audience and story moving smoothly. 

Despite the many rooms and settings for this production, it largely goes off without a hitch. Though at times the pause between exits and entrances of performers is a little lengthy and a music cue or two were delayed. There were also times where voices, seemingly from the crew or cast in other rooms, could be heard echoing through the halls. This could be distracting for the audience, although it did add to the eeriness of the police station and courthouse setting. 

The cast also does well to adapt to the different spaces and sets, giving the audience a feeling of having almost been dropped in the middle of a crime show, invisible witnesses to the events unfolding. Stokes, as Detective Matthews, casts a particularly strong presence with his authoritative voice and lilting Scottish accent. Other cast members including Maddison Chippendale as Gladys Smith/Miss Allie, Roslyn Hicks as Inie Holmes, Barret Griffin as Reginald Holmes, and Karli Evans as Miss Molloy/Grace Brady also gave near faultless performances, with strong and commanding presences through tense scenes. Other members of the cast did stumble through some dialogue and at times the performance felt over-dramatised, especially given the intimate closeness between the actors and their audience. But these are refinements that Director Liviu Monsted may easily address as the show continues its season through to the end of August. 

If you are a lover of crime shows, true crime documentaries, or the history of Sydney city, The Shark Arm Case is certainly not to be missed. It is an innovative and exciting way to use the spaces of our museums after hours, and an exemplar of immersive theatre done right. 

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