Tim returns to his acting roots (From Salisbury Journal)

Tim returns to his acting roots

2:13pm Thursday 18th February 2010 in Entertainments

TIM Treslove began his acting career aged 13 with Salisbury Playhouse’s youth theatre, Stage ’65, and is rightly proud.

“I can think of ten professional actors from my era who began their career this way,” he says.

Born and brought up in Salisbury, Tim and his family moved back to the area ten years ago for good, he hopes. “One of the great things about working for Forest Forge, is the chance to be at home with my family and playing characters I know I care about.”

But Tim also has a very special relationship with Forest Forge, the professional rural touring theatre company based in Ringwood.

“It is where I met my wife, Sandra. She was Beatrice and I was Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing. Years later we were Mr and Mrs Macbeth in the Scottish play.”

Tim has worked with Forest Forge on many productions over the past 20 years, including the part of the Romany traveller Moses in A Clearing in February 2009.

It was while he was in this role that Welsh playwright Gary Owen spotted Tim. Gary was commissioned by Forest Forge’s artistic director Kirstie Davis to write a play set in the New Forest. “He came to Ringwood for four days, travelling around on a bus and meeting people,” she says. “During his time here, he saw A Clearing and said: “Who’s that?”, meaning Tim, and after the two met after the performance, the character of Shaun was created.”

“Shaun, one of five characters, is a wheeler dealer, a likeable rogue,” says Tim.

“You never quite know what his character becomes, he is an enigma. I think the audience will make up their own mind. When I first read Free Folk, I thought this is the play that Forest Forge should do. It has all the elements of rural living, but in a contemporary setting.

“The play is about what it means to be free and what is meant by home,” says Kirstie.

“It is essentially a story set during one night but with the use of flashbacks, making it very filmic. I have been working with City Eye, a film company in Southampton and Becky Aplin has written a beautiful filmic soundscape.”

Adds Tim: “Every character comes out at the end a little bit different. The play feels very real.”