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An uncompromising portrait of working-class East End life, which revolves around a bitter-sweet love triangle, set against a backdrop of bullshit, bangers, beatings and betting slips. Spanning twenty-five years, over the course of three bonfire nights, we open our story in -

East London, November 5th 1982 - Funfairs and fireworks when mouthy street-wise tearaway RICHY gets the girl, KAY, instead of JACK DOYLE, a smitten, shy teenager growing up in the shadow of his well respected old man. Jack can only watch as Richy drives his dream girl around on the bumper cars. Unlike Richy, Jack burns slowly and will take 21 years to go off.

East London, October 2003 - KAY, down-trodden wife of RICHY (now a scum-bag gambling, small-time criminal, who burns with a short fuse). Having endured the hardship of life with Richy, Kay craves happiness, stability, a dream kitchen, and the love of a good man.

Richy has more time for race horses and his childhood mates, ANGUS (obsessed with body-building and bondage), MILLSY (makes up for his short stature with tall stories) and BILLY 'TJ' (stands for 'The Jab', on account of his syringe-jabbing addiction to smack).

Kay suffers at the hands of these grown-up and going-down Jack-the-lads, an unwilling victim of their pitiful attempts to make ends meet.

JACK DOYLE comes back on the scene, at 40, he's surprisingly endearing. Everything Richy isn't, will ever be. A big fish, having lived a life of endless professional heists, serious pay days, dolly birds, a fun-in-the-sun high-life. So why is Doyle back in this shit-hole?

Because life hasn't rewarded him with the ultimate prize...Kay...his first crush...and his last. RAY OAKLEY, Doyle's best friend and confidant, lends his support to Doyle's orchestrated courtship. After a number of failed attempts to woo Kay, she realises she's trapped in the middle of two men...one going out of his way to compete for her affections.

Guest of honour at Richy's bonfire night party; LEE, a postman pal who's bending towards crime, here to offer up a post office robbery. Firearms, high-performance getaway cars, what dreams are made of for crime-worshipping cretins like Richy. This is the big one.

What's there to think about? There are bets to lay, debts to pay, little mouths to feed, not to mention those little dirty habits, and those long-overdue home improvements.

The fate of Kay's marriage to Richy, and more importantly the fate of her council kitchen, now hinges on 'the big one'. It's all going well on the big day for Richy, Angus, Millsy and Billy 'TJ'...until they arrive at the bank to discover that they're merely decoys for the real robbery that took place 2 minutes before they arrived.

Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set Richy up. Doyle's plan to see Richy sent down has failed, due to an unexpected improvisation on the part of Richy.

Will Richy be outwitted by his nemesis, Doyle, allowing Kay to live her dream? Will Doyle ever get the girl, allowing him to live his?

Light the fuse, stand well back...wait...and see.

written by Anthony O'Leary

Bonfire Night

Outline by Anthony O’Leary

BONFIRE NIGHT is an uncompromising portrait of working-class East End life, which revolves around a bitter-sweet love triangle, set against a backdrop of bullshit, bangers and bonfires.

NOVEMBER 5TH 1982 - VICTORIA PARK, EAST LONDON. Funfairs and fireworks when mouthy street-wise tearaway, RICHY gets the girl, KAY, instead of JACK DOYLE, a smitten, shy teenager growing up in the shadow of his well-respected old man.

Doyle, slow on the chat up, can only watch as Richy drives his dream girl around on the bumper cars. Doyle turns to his best friend, RAY OAKLEY, sympathetic but never subtle.

Marks out of 10 for chat-up, Doyle scores a 0.

Unlike Richy, Jack burns slowly and will take 21 years to go off. So we'll jump forward 21 years.

RICHY: 36-year-old Jack-the-lad, plenty of bottle but lacking the maturity and intellect to ever make it big time, a hopeless gambler, a pathetic small-time criminal, a small fish in a very big pond, who happens to burn with a short fuse.

KAY: The attractive sister of two, unlike the brash one SUE, Kay was the quiet type as a teen -- unfortunately attracted to the excitement that Jack-the-lads like Richy promised. A prime victim for blokes like Richy, now his down-trodden wife. She's a lost cause...until Jack Doyle comes back on the scene...and restores what she's been lacking for a long time. Hope.

JACK DOYLE: At 40, he's surprisingly endearing. Everything Richy isn't, will ever be. A big fish, having inherited the Crime Crown of Tower Hamlets by his long-time-dead old man.

Doyle's lived a life of endless professional heists, serious pay days, dolly birds, fun-in-the-sun high-life. So why is Doyle back in this shit-hole? Because life hasn't rewarded him with the ultimate prize...Kay...his first crush...and his last.

Doyle orchestrates a brief encounter with Kay, who happens to be loaded with shopping bags and kids. Doyle, who's only affliction seems to be a bad reputation gained from underworld infamy and a bad line in chat-up, is automatically rejected by Kay.

The encounter leaves Kay wondering if there's more to Doyle than a sharp-dressed villain with a bad chat-up. Kay doesn't stick around to find out.

Oakley, subtle as ever, lends his support to the courtship; marks out of 10 for chat-up, Doyle scores a 2.

Richy has more time for race horses and his loser mates from childhood, who share

with him the same sad, crime-worship aspirations.

MILLSY: Pint-sized, bespectacled, bullshitter, storyteller, yarn-spinner, dream-weaver, fanny-merchant. Makes up for his short stature with tall stories. Lacks the bottle to be a small-time criminal, let alone a big fish.

ANGUS: Confirmed bachelor and body-builder in pursuit of the perfect body with an unsavoury fixation for steroids and bondage...or "wrapping up" as his burglar mates call it. Always in possession of handcuffs and rope...for personal use as well as breaking in and tying up.

BILLY 'TJ': a lost-case junky who could've amounted to something but chose to amount to nothing. In between trying to complete Kay's kitchen with limited funds supplied by Richy, this dab-hand at DIY jacks up, hence the nickname; Billy 'TJ' - The Jab.

Kay suffers at the hands of these grown-up and going-down small-time criminal Jack-the-lads, an unwilling victim of their pitiful attempts to make ends meet.

Having endured ten years of hardship with Richy, Kay now craves the comforts; happiness, stability, a dream kitchen and the love of a good man. What she's got is untold strife and a council kitchen.

There are bets to lay, debts to pay, little mouths to feed, not to mention those little dirty habits, and those long-overdue home improvements.

A chance break-in at a warehouse rewards Richy with boxes of 'Stardust Memories' fireworks, coming at such close proximity to Bonfire Night finally promises a pay day. Kay has to sit back and watch as Richy squanders their dirty cash on kebabs, karaoke and kick-ins.

All witnessed by Doyle, who's concern for Kay is growing increasingly stronger.

A brief chat with Doyle in a local pub holding an 80's night leaves Kay wondering if there's more to Doyle than a cardboard cut-out villain.

Kay is hoping there is.

Oakley, subtle as ever; marks out of 10 for chat-up, Doyle scores a 5.

When Richy treats Kay to dinner at the local kebab restaurant, Doyle is here, plotted. When Richy comes up against a villainous heavily-armed low-life lecher, Doyle takes it upon himself to show the lecher some manners, and demonstrate his affection for Kay in the process, through the medium of a kebab skewer through the villain's roving eyeball.

Kay realises she's trapped in the middle of two men...one going out of his way to compete for her affections.

NOVEMBER 5TH 2002 - KAY'S GARDEN, EAST LONDON

Bonfire night with friends and family, the high life for low-lives. Guest of honour, LEE, a postman pal who's bending towards crime, here to offer up a post office robbery. Firearms, high-performance getaway cars, what dreams are made of for crime-worshipping cretins like Richy. This is the big one.

What's there to think about?

There are bets to lay, debts to pay, little mouths to feed, not to mention those little dirty habits, and those long-overdue home improvements.

So confident is Richy of a big pay day, he sets to work destroying Kay's council kitchen units with a baseball bat.

The fate of Kay's marriage to Richy, more importantly, the fate of Kay's council kitchen, now hinges on 'the big one'.

It's all running to plan on the big day...until our boys arrive at the post office to discover that they're merely decoys for the real robbery that took place 2 minutes before they arrived.

Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set Richy up.

An edge-of-your-seat chase ensues. An unexpected, improvised getaway using a cache of 'hot' 'Stardust Memory' fireworks, allows our boys to evade capture by the local boys in blue. A lucky escape, but by the end of the day Richy, Angus, Millsy and Billy 'TJ' are still quid's down.

There are still bets to lay, debts to pay, little mouths to feed, not to mention those little dirty habits, and those long-overdue home improvements.

It transpires that Doyle hatched the post office robbery to remove Richy from Kay's life once and for all...or 25 years at least, with good behaviour.

Doyle's plan to see Richy put away has failed. Oakley, best friend and confident, is there to lend a shoulder to cry on.

Will Richy finally be outwitted by his nemesis, Doyle, allowing Kay to live her dream?

Will Doyle ever get the girl, allowing him to live his?

Light the fuse, stand well back...wait, and see.

Doyle makes a last-ditch attempt to win Kay around when he makes one last house call, one final plea, telling her that he'll even resort to murder if it means taking Richy out of her life once and for all.

Just when Kay started to believe romance wasn't dead, Doyle threatens to kill her husband, which leaves Kay wondering if there's more to Doyle than a frustrated, love-sick, man

who's running out of options.

Kay actually considers the possibility that there is.

Oakley, subtle as ever; marks out of 10 for chat-up, Doyle scores a 6.

Drawn to an emotional depth and generosity of spirit no longer evident in her husband, Kay finds herself fighting against her true feelings. Having just rejected Doyle for a forth time, she convinces herself that she's blown it.

Brainwashed into thinking no one would really want her as she is now, Kay feels she may have missed her one true chance for happiness...21 years ago.

She's reminded of the mistake she's made when Richy stays out on another all-night drinking session with his loser friends.

Returning to Millsy's for an after-hours drinking session, Richy and the guys find themselves looking down the barrels of automatic weapons -- a police raid by heavily-armed police, bent on catching someone for the post office robbery.

Richy is finally busted down to bullshit. Millsy has played a major part in their final downfall, his tall stories and bullshit bragging to a pub local all through the story have fallen on wrong ears. Richy's violent mood-swings will come back to haunt him in court.

Charged with a crime they didn't even get a chance to commit, Richy and his friends are well on their way to a life behind bars.

A glance from Doyle in court as Richy is sent down for 25 years leaves Kay wondering if there's more to Doyle than that caring, romantic, wonderwall she's fallen in love with.

Kay is betting her life there is.

Oakley, impressed; marks out of 10 for chat-up, Doyle scores a 10.

NOVEMBER 5TH 2003 - SURBITON-ON-THAMES

Bonfire night at home for Kay, her children...and Doyle. Home is one million pounds of upmarket riverside property, a cruiser at the end of the garden, all mod cons, the best kitchen that Doyle's money can buy.

Meanwhile, Richy, losing cigarettes at a game of cards in his 9x9 cell, can only watch fireworks through the bars, sick at the mean hand he's been dealt.