By Tom Cone
True Mummy is a compelling drama, which presents provocative ideas and poses difficult questions connected to issues of life and death, morality and art, ritual versus utilitarianism, and the “opposing concepts of creation and desecration.”
True Mummy refers to a black, luminous, clear glaze, the “best shellac in the history of art,” that was made from the ash of cremated mummies.
What is sacred today—anything? Is any degree of desecration justified in the pursuit of truth and the creation of art? These are only a few of the questions posed in this provocative drama.
WHAT REVIEWER’S HAVE SAID: “It’s rare to see a play as challenging as True Mummy. Its risks and successes are laudable.” —The Georgia Straight
“True Mummy breaks new ground in its use of the theatrical form to explore ideas and ask unanswerable questions.” —The Vancouver Sun
Tom Cone was the author of over a dozen plays, operas, and librettos. While playwright-in-residence at the Stratford Festival, he premiered his play Stargazing and his adaptation of Goldoni's Servant of Two Masters. The musical adaptation of his play Herringbone has been produced in Chicago, New York, London, Philadelphia, Edinburgh, Vancouver, and the Hartford Stage starring Joel Grey. Originally from Miami, Tom settled in Vancouver in the 1970s and was a major advocate of the arts for over three decades. He passed away from caner in 2012.
