A MAN has retraced his roots to produce a film about Adderbury’s rich heritage of Morris dancing.

Tim Plester, 40, was brought up in the village but spent his youth running away from the tradition, which his father and uncle helped revive. But, after learning about its history, he has spent the last four years producing a documentary about the dance, his village and his family.

Way of the Morris, which Mr Plester self-financed and self-distributed, will appear at the Phoenix Picturehouse in Jericho next Friday.

The film examines Morris dancing in Adderbury from its near extinction in the trenches of the First World War to its resurgence in the 1970s.

Mr Plester, who now lives in London and works as an actor, said: “It was a real voyage of discovery for me, thinking about where I came from and what it means to come from somewhere and take pride in one’s heritage.

“But, on a bigger level, it is about being an Englishman and struggling with a sense of identity, which we all struggle with.”

Adderbury has a unique style of Morris dancing which is replicated all over the world, from Canada to Singapore. Mr Plester said: “My dad and uncle were both involved in the revival of the Adderbury Morris dance tradition in 1975, when I was at nursery school.

“It is something I never got involved with and have spent all my life running away from and being embarrassed about.

“I ran away so far I came to live in London and reinvented myself as a metrosexual urbanite. But that changed when I found out about the story of dancing in the village. There was a team of young dancers who went to the trenches of the First World War and they were wiped out, apart from one guy.

“Very literally, Morris dancing in Adderbury died out in the hell hole of the Western Front.”

He has taken the film to festivals around the world, including to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and the film is about to open in cinemas across the country.

Mr Plester said: “The real highlight of this whole process was getting into South by Southwest and having the opportunity to take with me my dad and uncle, who are both in the film.

“That was a real thrill for me and that will live in my memory for a long time.”