I worked around it, instead of simpleslides just use larger fonts to with regular pages
\startbuffer[slides]
\setuptolerance[
horizontal,
tolerant,
stretch]
\setuppapersize[
A4,landscape]
\setuplayout[
width=middle,
backspace=35mm,
cutspace=35mm,
height=middle,
topspace=5mm,
bottomspace=20mm]
\setuppagenumbering[
location={footer,center}]
\setuphead
[section]
[page={yes}]
\usetypescript[pagella]
\setupbodyfont[pagella,18pt]
\setupbodyfontenvironment[
28pt][ % For body
d=36pt, % For title
a=12pt, % For author & date
]
\setuptype[style=medium]
\setuptyping[typing][bodyfont=16pt]
\setupwhitespace[medium]
\setbreakpoints[compound]
\setuphead[chapter][style=\bfd]
\setuphead[section][style=\bfc]
\setuphead[subsection][style=\bfb]
\setuphead[subsubsection][style=\bf]
\setupitemize[autointro] % prevent orphan list intro
\setupitemize[indentnext=no]
\starttext
\startsection[title={MySlideTitle},ref={myref1}]
Body text
\startitemize
\item Item 1
\item Item 2
\stopitemize
\stopsection
\startsection[title={MySlideTitle},ref={myref2}]
Body text
\stopsection
\stoptext\starttext
text
\stoptext
\stopbuffer
\savebuffer[list=slides, file=\jobname_slides.tex, prefix=no]
\starttext
\startbodymatter
\dorecurse{25}{\input zapf\par}
\typesetfile[\jobname_slides.tex][--purgeall][object=no, width=0pt]
\stopbodymatter
\startappendices
\getfiguredimensions[\jobname_slides.pdf]
\dorecurse{\noffigurepages}
{\startTEXpage
\externalfigure[\jobname_slides.pdf][page=\recurselevel]
\stopTEXpage}
\stopappendices
\stoptext