100th episode for Closer Each Day

Created in May 2011 (in tandem with the inception of The Wardrobe Theatre), Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera is a live, spontaneous and unique theatrical experience that has been thrilling audiences for over five years and is now (get this) the longest-running improvised soap opera in the world that follows one continuous storyline. Performed every fortnight at The Wardrobe Theatre, Closer Each Day has grown a cult following in Bristol – and, next Monday (June 20), celebrates its 100th episode.

We sat down with the cast to re-live the soap’s top 10 moments ever (in no particular order).

1) The one where Reg and Harold tied the knot
(Episode 9.8: Close Your Eyes, Give Me Your Hand – April 28, 2015)
“An epic, episode-long wedding with all the trimmings featuring Reg in a beautiful dress, a full audience rendition of Eternal Flame and enough confetti cannons to cover the entire theatre in a thick layer of pastel tissue paper.”

2) The one where Constance announced she was pregnant
(Episode 9.1: Enraged To Be Engaged – Jan 20, 2015)
“The actor playing Constance Sugar (Lindsey Garwood) had hidden from the cast that she was pregnant and, knowing it would therefore need to be worked into the show, she dramatically announced it mid-episode! It was also revealed that, because of Constance’s promiscuousness, no-one knew who the father was, kicking off a wonderful storyline.”

3) The one where Pablo poured his mother’s ashes down the sink
(Episode 11.8: Emptied Urns and Unwelcome Returns – Apr 25, 2016)
“Having been tormented by his overbearing mother all his life (and even after her death), Pablo finally found the courage to step out from behind her shadow when he dramatically poured her ashes down the drain in the hairdressing salon.”

4) The one where Magdalene turned off her true love’s life-support
(Episode 3.6: Sex Tapes and Blackmail – April 10, 2012)
“After being shot in the stomach, Dr Ferguson was in a coma for several months and, although she was still madly in love with him, Magdalene began to be seduced by Big Dick Johnson. Eventually, as a final act to prove her love for her new partner, she was forced to turn off Dr Ferguson’s life-support machine.”

5) The one where Fred developed a split-personality
(Episode 5.3: Rio Rehab – Feb 19, 2013)
“Anxiety and a debilitating and devastating addiction to cans of Rio provoked Fred to form an evil split-personality, with characteristics very close to a wheezing and gesturing Godfather-esque Marlon Brando.”

6) The one where Constance and Simpkins flirted outrageously whilst teaching a history lesson
(Episode 7.2: The Flashback – Feb 4, 2014)
“Constance and Simpkins were supply-teaching a history lesson, but their attraction reached new levels when they worked sexual innuendos into a quickfire history quiz including ‘How shiny was Cromwell’s helmet?’ and ‘How deep were the trenches in WW1?’.”

7) The one where Jimmy framed his brother by committing suicide
(Episode 3.11: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Colt – June 26, 2012)
“Blaming his brother for the death of his wife, the devastated Jimmy Johnson quietly spent the entire episode planting evidence, corroborating stories and securing alibies before he shocked everyone by shooting himself and cleverly framing his brother, Big Dick Johnson, for his death! The actor (James Rushbrook) was moving away so wanted to go out with a bang – however, his move got delayed so his character actually returned for two more episodes as a ghost!”

8) The one where Harold discovered he’d married his mother
(Episode 6.7: Bus Shelter Baby – Dec 10, 2013)
“For several months orphan Harold had been searching for his biological parents – but in that time he’d also fallen in love with and impregnated Beryl Johnson. In an incredibly dramatic episode, as the pair were getting married and just as Beryl’s waters broke, Harold learnt the truth that he was her long-lost son!”

9) The one where Sazz and Reg tried to solve a murder
(Episode 5.9: Who Shot Fritz Hamburg? – May 14, 2013)
“Hapless police officer Reg was tasked with solving the murder of Fritz and was taking a statement off the only witness, a gormless Sazz. She had a hazy memory of events but hilariously described a giant Spanish man and a fat black man with wings and a unicorn – evidence that Reg took as absolute fact and noted down in chalk on the stage’s back wall.”

10) The one where everyone converted to Big Dick Johnsonism
(Episode 7.13: Total Cult – July 8 July, 2014)
“Having been using Buddhism to calm his rages, Big Dick Johnson eventually found true inner peace and formed his own religious cult. Big Dick Johnsonism seduced huge swathes of the community and resulted in people covering their naked bodies in a potent psychedelic chilli sauce and dancing and chanting around a cooking pot.”

Synopses of all 99 episodes of Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera can be found on the show’s website www.closereachday.co.uk

Episode 100 is at The Wardrobe Theatre on Monday, June 20. For more info, visit
www.thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/episode-100-closer-day-improvised-soap-opera