Signals and Static is a vivid memoir from one of New Zealand broadcasting's quiet pioneers.
From Play School and What Now? to Nice One Stu and How'z That?, Rex Simpson takes readers behind the scenes of local television as it came of age, navigating creative risk, big personalities and the relentless pressure of live production.
Adopted as a child and raised by Scottish immigrant parents in rural Maori communities, Rex traces the early experiences that shaped his life in storytelling. His journey takes him through theatre, television and independent radio, into the theatre of hospitality and on to community broadcasting and local politics on the Coromandel.
Set against decades of social and cultural change, this is more than a story about familiar programmes. It is a personal account of creative ambition, setbacks, reinvention and connection, offering an insider's perspective on a changing New Zealand.
Thoughtful, candid and often wryly funny, Signals and Static brings together a life behind the microphone, behind the camera and within the communities whose stories Rex helped to tell.
