CROSSING THE LINE Comes to Alexander Upstairs

Do you hate your job? Ever fantasise about doing something different, maybe something exotic or even xx? 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' - a project which is still waiting for the right producer, is his first feature script with Osmium. 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 currently 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.

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