The improvised soap opera returns to The Wardrobe Theatre, with live comedy and drama where the cast picks up exactly where they left off from the previous episode.
Closer Each Day is back at The Wardrobe Theatre on Monday 26 October, and it's a good night to jump in if you've never seen it. It's the UK's only live soap opera, set in the fictional town of Newtown, and it's been running every other Monday at The Wardrobe since 2011. That's over 15 years and nearly 300 episodes, and it's billed as the world's longest improvised story.
The format is simple: the cast of improvisers pick up exactly where they left off in the previous episode and make up the next one right in front of you. The characters, the feuds and the cliffhangers all carry over from one show to the next, so the story keeps building over the months and years. Each episode is built to make sense on its own, though, so you don't need to have seen any of the ones before to follow what's happening. It won the Bristol Life Awards in 2023 and again in 2026, and it's become one of the signature shows of the theatre.
Behind the scenes, the Closer Each Day Company is directed by John Lomas and Lindsey Garwood, with Jack Drewry as musical director. The company also puts on No Expectations: The Improvised Dickens, which grew out of Steamed: A Dickensian Improvised Christmas Tale, first performed aboard the SS Great Britain.
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The show runs at 7.30pm at The Wardrobe Theatre, The Old Market Assembly, 25 West St, Bristol BS2 0DF. It lasts an hour with no interval. Tickets are £14, or £8 for Closer Each Day Patreon members, which is free to join.
