Do you hate your job? Ever fantasise about doing something different, maybe something exotic or even xxx? Crossing the Line invites you to meet Shayne, a greying 40-something Londoner whose job has most of the attributes of any other,- long hours, tiring work, varying levels of satisfaction and sometimes interesting (though mostly annoying) clientele. By allowing the audience to follow the way he lives his day-to-day life as a paid up, card carrying member of the ‘oldest profession on earth,' Shayne hopes to expose the dark, murky underbelly of the male escort industry for what it really is, – a way to pay the bills. Based on real-life stories from those in the trade, Crossing the Line is a casual meta-comedy that promises to give you your money's worth.

Roger Thomas was born and brought up on a small farm in the middle of the Welsh countryside. After a ‘bumpy’ final few years in high school he enlisted in the Royal Air Force which took him to London where he decided to make his home. After leaving the RAF he worked various admin jobs and put himself through the Lee Strasbourg School of Method Acting. With no immediate success gaining representation, Roger landed a job with Channel 4 Television dealing with artists contracts. With access to various film and TV scripts he discovered a love for script writing and entered the Time Out/Times Newspaper ‘New Script Writer’ competition with his 14 minute film script ‘Angels at my Bedside.’ It won first prize and was subsequently produced. This  led to his first feature ‘Fly Fishing’ also being produced but was  unfortunately followed by several ‘almost but not quite’ years in the writing wilderness. Roger was then approached by Osmium Films with a few script requests which were produced shortly thereafter.  ‘Refracted’ is his first feature script with Osmium and is available for download on Amazon and Google after it's Piccadilly Circus premiere last February. His second feature for them, ‘The Redeeming,’ was filmed recently and is due for release soon. Roger is currently acting since his move to Cape Town. He is also writing for Steam Cat productions on a sci-fi feature titled ‘Those Which Remain’.

Wojtek Lipinski is a young artist who has recently entered the industry working as a professional freelance actor. Wojtek started in theatre with school plays and also worked for Artreach, performing the works of Shakespeare (a fundraising programme for feeding the hungry.) This experience led him to pursue a career in acting. Wojtek studied drama at the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town where he featured in many theatre productions at the university’s H.B Thom Theatre, working with directors like Mareli Pretorius (Charlotte’s Web), Antoinette Kellerman (Baby and the Bath Water), Peter Krummick (Brothers) and Marthinus Basson (Romeo and Juliet.) He graduated with a BDrama Degree in 2012 with exceptional results, experience and skills. As an independent actor in the industry Wojtek has done numerous international and local TV commercials. He has also played cameos alongside Toby Stephens and Hannah New in the TV series Black Sails (Season 4) as well as in Homeland (Season 4). In theatre work Wojtek was part of the production the Unexpected Man directed by Shaun Acker. In Daniel Dercksen’s The Beauty of Incomplete Things he played the lead role of David at the Intimate and Jo’burg Theatre’s respectively. He has also done several short films, including Luna C, A String of Pearls, Ember, Toska, and 14 Minutes as well as creating his own short film called A Natural Thing, soon to be released on the film festival circuit. He has also been featured in music videos (directed by Ryan Kruger) for Monark’s Something and Hush as well as the SAMA Best Music Video 2015, Doors, by Prime Circle. Wojtek loves playing different and unusual characters for both film and theatre, for which he has developed a small reputation of excellence within the industry.

Jason Potgieter is a multidisciplinary theatre arts practitioner. He is an acclaimed actor, writer and director for the stage. Although Jason's most recent area of interest has been Object-Based Theatre and Puppetry, he also curates, educates and facilitates various forms of creative process around the world. He resides with his husband, their four-legged housemate and a gang of wayward Geraniums in Cape Town, South Africa.

Audience Responses

The show was great. My only niggle was the sound of the aircon above us which occasionally drowned out the performers. Didn't ruin it for me but thought I would mention it

Absolutely LOVED it!

What a surprising and refreshing show! A real, insightful comedy into a world that seems strange to most of us, but is so much more relatable than we might realise. Human, flawed and touching - it's beautiful!

The main performer did not project his voice sufficiently and he seemed to be having technical difficulties throughout the performance. This, coupled with a 30 minute delay in starting gives this performance the rating of worst one seen at the venue, the performance was not at the level of professionalism i have become accustomed to.

A laugh a minute. Funny and thought provoking. Self reflective on our own prejudices but not too serious to spend rest of eternity regretting the fun we all had.

I really liked the main actor. He handled the monologue really well and the many client situations were very funny. At the end of the show an attempt was made to touch on the consequences on relationships, friendships, personal health etc. but I feel that more could've been done on that. Overall very enjoyable and would recommend.

well spoken by the main character, less well played and certainly not by the co-actor.

It started 30 minutes late which was annoying

Delayed start by 30 minutes, even the scheduled start time of 9pm is too late for weekdays. The show itself seems to be amateur drama with actors trying out their dreams/bucket list? A few funny lines, could be done in their lounge or dining room.

Tedious

It has great potential. Roger's bravery didn't go unnoticed.

His voice is too low, so should use a microphone or speak louder

Brilliant show! Had a good laugh

Delayed start by 30 minutes, even the scheduled start time of 9pm is too late for weekdays. The show itself seems to be amateur drama with actors trying out their dreams/bucket list? A few funny lines, could be done in their lounge or dining room.