Crossing the Line

Following a successful scratch performance at the Festival in 2025, Crossing the Line returned as a full-scale production, touring regional venues as part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2026. Adapted from the award-winning novel by Tia Fisher, this powerful drama explores the devastating impact of county lines exploitation and the resilience and strength that can emerge in the face of adversity.

A series of youth cohort co-design sessions were delivered in Great Yarmouth and Sheringham as part of the production’s development. These sessions gave local young people the opportunity to work alongside the director to help shape the piece, explore different staging approaches and theatrical conventions within the play, and contribute to the design of publicity materials.

A series of post-show workshops were also offered to schools across each of the tour locations. These sessions gave young people the opportunity to explore the themes of the play in more depth, including the dynamics and risks associated with grooming and county lines exploitation. The workshops encouraged discussion and helped raise awareness of where young people can go for help and support if needed.

‘I have had lots of lovely chats with students today who thoroughly enjoyed the show. They were amazed by the ingenuity of the actors and set/props and found it simultaneously entertaining, shocking and thought provoking.  I loved how cleverly the plot of the story was reworked into a play and felt it was perfectly pitched to a teen audience but with appeal across the generations.’ 
Librarian, Diss High School

During this R&D phase, St George’s Theatre worked with Tia, a director, and a playwright, to co-design with young people from the Nelson Ward in Great Yarmouth, and experts from the St Giles Trust, a relevant and engaging piece of performance for secondary school students, teachers and parents. The piece highlighted the dangers posed by county lines.

Our Connect & Create team is proud to have supported St George’s Theatre Company in Great Yarmouth on the research and development of adapting the novel for the stage.

A sharing of the work-in-progress piece was performed during Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025. The sharing was followed by a Q&A with Tia and the creative team.

In its first year, Crossing the Line was a Creative Places project.

Artist

Directed by Katie Thompson (2025)

Participants

Students across Key Stages 3 & 4 from Community-Ed Academy, Diss High School and Dereham Northgate High School (2026)

Young people from the Nelson Ward in Great Yarmouth (2025)

Location

Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Sheringham, Lowestoft, Diss and Norwich

Partners

St George’s Theatre, St Giles Trust