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My Mother's Wooden Chest is about a woman who is forced by circumstances to open up a "chestful of memories". In this pilgrimage into her past, she goes through some painful truths, reconciling herself with her "mother", herself and her life. The play unfolds the struggle of a woman against the norms of her time. It unveils genuine and identifiable problems, both personal and social.

Long ago, a peaceful village was besieged by deadly swordfish. The villagers were terrified of these fish and looked to their Rajah for a solution. But the Rajah had none. Then a young boy named Abdul came up with the ida of using banana tree trunks and saved the village from its plight. Instead of being rewarded, Abdul was arrested as the Rajah perceived the boy to be a greater threat to his reign than the fish.

Dennis Potter's deceptively simple tale relates the activities of 7 seven-year-olds (played by adult actors) at play in a seemingly idyllic and ever-youthful world. The children play, fight and fantasize. Their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries, a microcosm of adult interaction. All the children gang up on the terrified "Donald Duck" who abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays his own dangerous game of pyromania which ends in tragedy.