Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reviewed Saturday 16 August 2025).
Deadhouse Productions are back with another true crime drama played in a historic Sydney location. This time we are presented with the bizarre and gruesome Shark Arm Case from 1935, when a shark that had been captured for a local tourist attraction in Coogee suddenly became violently ill and threw up a human arm in front of a horrified crowd. After the arm was examined by forensics, it was deemed the body was murdered in foul play, not eaten alive by the shark. The arm had several distinct tattoos that led to the identification of the victim and the suspect.
These events are faithfully re-enacted in the chambers of the Justice & Police Museum, where the most notorious criminals look down at you from the walls. If you linger long enough in the corridors you’ll catch serial killers like Caroline Grills who poisoned her victims (four family members) for pure sadistic pleasure. Sounds chillingly familiar to the recent Mushroom Murders. Meanwhile, the immersive theatre performance takes you from room to room re-telling the Shark Arm Case, until you are sitting in a courtroom listening to the final verdict.
As a 60-minute show the pacing was good although it risks being a dramatised Wikipedia entry. At two shows per day (6.30pm and 8pm) the latter performance seemed a bit flat, relying on a formulaic script with no big dramatic build up. A little more passion in the delivery would have made it more captivating.
That said, the audience members were very pleased with their choice of outing, given how many events are happening each night in Sydney. On this particular night I had just come from an activation for ‘Wednesday Island’ at King Street Wharf, a boat / island party celebrating the reboot of Wednesday Addams (from the Addams Family) on Netflix.
It seems Sydney has a healthy interest in the spooky and the spectacular, and a bit of gore. The more sensational, the better. In this instance Shark Arm Case offers something that is both sensational and educational for those that want to delve a little deeper into Sydney’s historic underbelly.
Shark Arm Case is playing at Justice & Police Museum until 30 August 2025. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/shark-arm-case-tickets-1377222512609