Dolly West's Kitchen is a dark Irish and deeply Chekhovian play written by the playwright Frank McGuinness. It was first staged in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1999. Set during the Second World War in the town of Buncrana, County Donegal, the play tells the story of the West family and how they deal with the war in Europe and the war that ensues in their very own kitchen.
The play is set in 1943 during the Second World War in the small town of Buncrana, on the border with Derry, Northern Ireland, during the Emergency. Dolly West is home after fleeing Italy before the war. She runs the household for her elderly mother Rima, her elder sister Esther and her younger brother Justin. Also living in the house is Esther's husband Ned and the housemaid Anna. Justin, a junior officer in the Irish army, is deeply nationalistic and in favour of Irish neutrality.
But questions are asked of the neutrality of both Ireland and the house, when three foreigners are invited across the border into the house by Rima. The first is Alec, an English officer and former lover of Dolly's. The other two are American soldiers, Marco and Jamie. Soon clashes over issues of loyalty, jealousy, sexual identity and love creep into Dolly West's kitchen.
The premiere of Dolly West's Kitchen, directed by Patrick Mason, took place on 6 October 1999 in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. The original cast was: