Before the pandemic struck, West End theatre director Nick Evans enjoyed a career which took him around the country and the rest of the world.

But with the entertainment industry thrown into limbo the director decided to set sail, metaphorically at least, on a new journey that's enabled him to travel with others from the comfort of his home in Rochester.

Nick's new podcast, Ticket to Ride, sees him joined each week by guests who are given 5 ‘virtual’ tickets to relive memorable or special journeys from their life, taking listeners with them on a much-needed break from the restrictions of lockdown.

Prior to the pandemic Nick Evans, originally from Swansea, enjoyed a busy few years working on productions such as Billy Elliot the Musical, Mary Poppins, Bat Out of Hell, and most recently his own production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ in Mexico City.

But he described how the theatrical journey was brought to a dramatic end a year ago.

"Everyone has had a real shock in the industry," he said. "One day in March we walked out of the theatres and haven't been back since. Everyone had to adapt, and a year later we're still not able to work.

"We all have the perspective that there were people much worse off on the front line dealing directly with the virus.

"We're not the only industry that's been affected but most industries got the chance to come back for a while in the summer.

"Many in our industry do it for the love of our job, I don't think we could have imagined a scenario where everything just stopped. To have it stop overnight was a shock and it took a few months to have the energy and positivity to think about doing something else."

But of course, Nick eventually did just that. And it was his love of travel, combined with the absence of it, that sparked his idea for the podcast.

"One of the great things has been talking to interesting people," he added. "The main thing has been reaching out to people you might not have spoken to.

"Every single person that has taken part has said wouldn't it be so nice to go travelling. It's been nice to travel vicariously through people's stories.

"I think everyone took travel for granted before."

In the podcast Nick joins his guests as they recall childhood trips and holidays, working journeys, favourite UK destinations, a special international adventure or escape, before they are finally offered a ‘golden ticket’; an odyssey they would like to take to an unvisited place, with a ‘fantasy travel companion’ past or present.

Guests so far have included Labour MP Tracy Brabin, singer Eddi Reader who had a huge hit with ‘Perfect’ in the 1980’s, and ‘A Place in the Sun’ presenter Scarlette Douglas.

"This week's episode with Scarlette Douglas was great," added Nick. "She was telling stories about being flown out to Antigua, everyone who described the sea has driven me crazy.

"Eddi Reader told about being on tour with Alison Moyet in Tokyo and that sounded amazing to hear about what was happening in the 1980s.

"Eddi is fantastic - she was due to play Rochester Castle with Jools Holland, and that was one of the things that went by the wayside.

"I would urge anyone to go and see her."

The podcast, produced by ScratchPost Productions releases a new episode every Friday morning, and can be found by searching ‘Ticket To Ride’ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, GooglePlay or Podbean.

And Nick says the reopening of theatres won't necessarily signal an end to his broadcasting career, and he is looking forward to welcoming an as-yet unrevealed Hollywood star on the show.

"We don't know when the theatre's will reopen," he added. "If we get enough listeners and it takes off maybe this will become a new opportunity.

"I think everybody reading this would say that for all the bad stuff that's happened there have been positives and for me this would be something I want to carry on with."

You can hear the podcast via this link.

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