Radio
 
 

ROMANY ROADS

BBC R4 July 2007

  
 

2 x 30 minute Gypsy history exploring the relationship between the Romany and the sedentary population against a historical backdrop from India to contemporary Britain. Presented by Simon Evans and produced by Julian May for the BBC.
 
 

TRAVELLER'S TALES

BBC R4 March 2006

  
 
5 x 15 minute contemporary parables of modern Gypsy life by storyteller Bill Lee. Gypsy wisdom is not stored in libraries and acquired by studying texts, the oral tradition has its own cultural storehouses and means of transmission which is fluid and responsive without the constraints of printed permanence.Produced by Simon Evans
   

'Pure poetry, a love song to the open road' - The Guardian

'unadorned and spontaneous - engrossing' - The Financial Times

'vividly describes life on the open road' - The SundayTelegraph

Radio Choice - The Independent on Sunday

Gillian Reynolds Choice - The Daily Telegraph
 
 

THE BASQUE CHILDREN

BBC R4 November 2005

 
 

30 minute documentary about the plight of 4000 children evacuated from Bilbao to England after the bombing of Guernica in 1937. As right and left wing politicians argued about their fate against a backdrop of increasing international tension they became pawns in a game of wider European politics. Presented by Michael Portillo and produced by Simon Evans.
    Featured pick of the day by The Times, Guardian, Independent and Mail on Sunday  
 
 

WE STILL BREATHE THEIR AIR

BBC R3 January 2005

  
 
An exploration of the emerging Roma/Romany literary movement in the UK and the Czech Republic in which fluid oral tradition makes the transition to printed permanence. A 45 minute Sunday feature presented and produced by Simon Evans with co producer David Vaughan. An Open Production in conjunction with Radio Prague. A full transcript of the programme with audio stream is HERE
 
 

HIGH SPEED LINK

BBC R4 July 2004

  
 
5 x 15 minute programmes charting Kent as a thoroughfare from prehistoric times to the present day. Ancient downland tracks, Roman roads, coaching roads, railways and motorways enabling more and faster journeys have had a profound effect on us all. Presented by Simon Evans and produced for the BBC by Julian May.
 
 

THE GYPSY'S HORSE

BBC R4 August 2003

  
30 min feature charting the changing relationship between Gypsies and horses since settlement. Once the horse was an essential provider of transport and was treated as one of the family, today many Gypsy Travellers still keep horses for driving and trotting. Produced by Simon Evans
   

A tapestry of Gypsy Voices - extremely evocative' - The Guardian

'An atmospheric collage of reflections' - The Sunday Telegraph

'Exactly the sort of nostalgia I relish' - Sue Arnold, The Observer

Gillian Reynolds Choice, The Daily Telegraph. Featured on Pick of The Week, Radio 4

 
 

VOICES

BBC South East, April - July 2003

  

A tri media broadcast project working with BBC TV, Radio Kent and BBC Kent On Line producing a season of programming celebrating Romany culture and history in the South East. Produced by Simon Evans and Jo Burns. Voices website
 

Gillard local radio award winner 2003

RIMA Gold Award 2005 , Commission for Racial Equality

Sony Radio Academy Silver Award Winner 2004

"The judges felt this entry had real depth......it also exposed the prejudice still experienced by Travellers"
 
 

LISTENING TO THE RIVER

BBC R3 July 2002

  

An innovative montage of voices and music about the river Medway and those who have a long standing relationship with it. A collaboration between producer Simon Evans and composer and musician Chris Wood. 30min. Photographs here

'An unusual and evocative piece of Radio' - The Independent

'Chris Wood has created a soundtrack which captures both the movement of the river and the ebb and flow of estuary life' - The Observer

'A meditation with violin and words that married together the rhythms of the speech and the music, working off each other creating a sound track that would have bewitchingly and warmly washed over anyone' - Simon Fanshaw, Radio 4

Featured on Pick of The Week, BBC Radio 4

       
 

SANCTUM

BBC South East June 2002

  
A 60 min programme with those who have arrived in Kent as refugees or seeking asylum. A collaborative project between producer Simon Evans and artist Peter Latham whose portraits of contributers were exhibited in Folkestone and Margate to coincide with the broadcast. Sanctum website
       
 

THE CENTURY SPEAKS

BBC Radio 2000

  
A major oral history series comprising 16 x 30 minute programmes charting social and lifestyle changes during the 20th century. Broadcast on BBC Radio Kent as part of a nation wide BBC project to commemorate the millenium. Produced by Simon Evans.
       
 

FOLKESTONE FISHING

BBC Radio Kent

  
The changing fortunes of local fishing families and the way of life in their communities. 60 min Presented and produced by Simon Evans.
       
 

THE END OF THE ROAD

BBC Radio 4

  
A 'Kaleidoscope Feature' exploring the changes in Gypsy Traveller lifestyle and culture resulting from the enforced settlement since the 1950's. 30 minute presented by Simon Evans, produced by Julian May for the BBC.
       
 

HOP IS KING

BBC Radio Kent

  
A programme documenting Kent's hop industry past and present in conjunction with a Kent County Council funded touring exhibition of my photographs. Included 12 specially arranged and recorded songs released as an album. 60 minutes, presented and produced by Simon Evans.
       
 

A POOR MAN'S GIFT

BBC Radio 4

  
An examination of the position of working class culture and folk song in the within the contemporary arts world. A 'Kaleidoscope Feature', 30 min, presented by Simon Evans and produced for the BBC by Julian May
       
 

BONFIRE IN THE SOUTH EAST

BBC Radio Kent

  
The anarchic tradition of bonfire that takes place every Autumn in Sussex was once widesprad throughout the South East. This 60 minute programme examines it's pagan origins and the part that political and religious turmoil played in perpetuating it. Produced by Simon Evans