CLOSER EACH DAY: THE IMPROVISED SOAP OPERA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

This Christmas, Bristol’s record-breaking live comedy soap opera is coming to Bristol Old Vic! Perfect for a hilarious night out with friends, family, work colleagues, or random people you have just met in the queue at Aldi. Closer Each Day’s unscripted story has been unfolding for 15 years, making it the longest improvised story in the world, but each episode is a standalone feast of comedy and drama. Whether you are new to the world of Closer or a die-hard fan you will be immersed from the very first scene. And, like all the best British soaps, Christmas is when things really ramp up with juicy storylines and unforgettable moments. What will happen next? Anything at all! The cast is made up of Bristol’s best actors and improvisers, with surprise special guests and plenty of delicious unpredictability. In fact, the only thing you can predict is that you will have a right rollicking high old time! FINALIST – Bristol Life Awards 2026 & 2023 MEET THE CHARATCERS Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera is set in the fictional world of Newtown, which is somewhere on the coast. Over the last 14 and a half years, we have discovered that Newtown has a hill called Lyle Hill, an underground cave system, a canal network, a tramline, a dry ski slope, a stadium, all the major supermarkets, some shops that don’t exist any more such as Woolworths and Wilkinsons, a Zen Garden and much much more. It is also home to many weird and wonderful characters, including: Big Dick Johnson (John Lomas) Built like a brick outdoor-toilet, he is a cockney villain with an oddly poetic outlook. A twin brother to Simpkins, he’s always up for a challenge or down for a scam. Constance Sugar (Lindsey Garwood) Powerful and determined with a libido to match her ambition, she is a cunning businesswoman, the local MP and is happy to lie or even kill to get what she wants. Mr Reginald Simpkins III (Sean Duffy) Father to Constance’s children, his relationship with her is turbulent yet erotically-charged. Simpkins is a wealthy hotelier with a Machiavellian streak, and an occasional LARPer. Alex LeDecky (Emile Clarke) Product of an international school upbringing, this café and pub owner has a head for business and a soul for fashion. He can’t understand why everyone seems to fall in love with him. Tracey Fish (Holly Meechan) This former zookeeper turned beauty therapist is great with nails and doing reiki. Tracey has had a baby with Roy, who they called Derren after having conceived him during a hypnotism experience. Roy Keen (Mike Akers) Less successful than his namesake, the manager of Newtown FC is delighted to find he is no longer on the love sub bench. Dr Aaron Tempest (Neil Haigh) Newtown’s GP is an amateur artist with a bit of a gambling habit. He has got together again with ex-wife Vicki and they are now engaged. Again. Vicky Entwistle (Leah Fletcher) A Mancunian estate agent now settled in Newtown and making deals buying and selling people’s dream homes – or turning them into tiny bedsits for loadsa money. Janelle Pollock (Tara Judah) Janelle is a small town girl with a big city heart. A talented artist, she is also known to be a bit of a stalker of people she likes. Krissie Johnson (Rebecca MacMillan) Krissie is a fitness influencer and ex-wife to Big Dick Johnson – but is it all really over between them? Fred Gonzalez (Andrew Kingston) A radio DJ with an encyclopedic knowledge of 80s pop and artisan ales.