Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera

Closer Each Day is coming to the Bristol Old Vic this December for a run of eight improvised soap opera nights. It's playing in the Weston Studio on Friday 4, Saturday 5, Thursday 10, Friday 11, Saturday 12, Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December, all starting at 8:00pm.

If you've never come across it, Closer Each Day is billed as the world's longest improvised story and the longest-running theatre show outside London. It's set in the fictional coastal town of Newtown, and its unscripted plot has been unfolding for 15 years across 32 seasons and nearly 300 fortnightly episodes at The Wardrobe Theatre, where it still runs on alternate Mondays. Over that time, the town has grown to include Lyle Hill, an underground cave system, a canal network, a tramline, a dry ski slope, a stadium and even a Zen Garden. It's also known as a fertile training ground for new acting talent in Bristol.

This Christmas season is the show's first time on the stage of the Bristol Old Vic, the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world. The format here is a bit different from the fortnightly episodes: each performance opens with a gift taken from the audience that inspires a completely new story, and surprise guest stars turn up to stir things up. The cast is John Lomas as Big Dick Johnson, Lindsey Garwood as Constance Sugar, Sean Duffy as Reginald Simpkins III, Holly Meechan as Tracey Fish, Mike Akers as Roy Keen and Neil Haigh as Dr Aaron Tempest, with music by Jack Drewry. Age guidance is 14+, as it may contain drug and sex references.

Tickets start from £12, which includes a £1 booking fee, though members and ticket subscribers are exempt from that. If you're between 16 and 30, there are £5 tickets for the opening night on Friday 4 December via club BOV, and groups of eight or more save 15%.