Margaret Trudeau and Diana Nyad to Share Their Stories Live and on Audible

Audible Inc. today announced two new theatrical events coming to the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible's creative home for live performance in New York, this September. Canadian icon Margaret Trudeau's Certain Woman of an Age, and celebrated long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's The Swimmer will each feature three-night limited engagements, to be recorded live as Audible Original productions and made available for listeners globally in the coming months. Tickets to Certain Woman of an Age and The Swimmer at the Minetta Lane Theatre are available today: here and here.

Margaret Trudeau, former wife of Pierre Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada, mother of Justin Trudeau, Canada's current Prime Minister, and international mental health advocate, brings her intimate staged performance, Certain Woman of an Age, to the Minetta Lane Theatre on September 12, 13, and 14 only, where it will be recorded live for Audible Theater. In this “fearless and vulnerable” (Chicago Tribune) one-woman show, Trudeau opens up—with refreshing candor—about her extraordinary life and her encounters with some of the most important icons of our time. It's a gripping portrait of motherhood, marriage, life-altering tragedy and personal triumph. Co-written with Alix Sobler and directed by Kimberly Senior, Certain Woman of an Age is a funny, honest examination of one of the world's most fascinating figures.

At the age of 64, legendary athlete Diana Nyad inspired the world when she walked onto the shores of Key West after “crossing the Mt. Everest of the earth's oceans,” becoming the first person in history to make the 111-mile swim from Cuba to Florida without the assistance of a shark cage. In her riveting new play The Swimmer, running September 26, September 27, and 28 only, Nyad shares the heartbreaking setbacks, brushes with death and the victories that kept her going, plunging the audience into the depths of her extraordinary journey. Written by Nyad, directed by Emmy Award winner Jane Anderson, and featuring her longtime friend and coach Bonnie Stoll, Nyad makes her New York stage debut in this powerful true story of passion and resilience.

Kate Navin, Artistic Producer of Audible Theater, commented: “These two incredibly strong and inspirational women are invaluable additions to the Audible Theater collection of captivating performances driven by language and voice. They've each overcome insurmountable odds and their stories, delivered in their own powerful words, demonstrate exactly the kind of unforgettable productions that we at Audible are so passionate about sharing with the world.”

Margaret Trudeau commented: “If there was ever a city that understands a story of resilience it has to be New York. What a joy to return to this incredible place and share my true story, and to have it recorded live for Audible listeners everywhere! I hope that audiences and listeners will laugh, maybe cry, but definitely take away a clearer understanding of how mental health plays a vital role in all that a full, hopeful, and loving life has to offer.”

Diana Nyad commented: “Performing off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre fulfills a lifelong dream for me. I am deeply honored that Audible believes my work will inspire and entertain audiences in New York as well as listeners worldwide.”

Additional information about the Audible productions:

Margaret Trudeau: Certain Woman of an Age

• September 12, 13, and 14 only at the Minetta Lane Theatre
• All performances at 7PM
• Written by Margaret Trudeau and Alix Sobler
• Directed by Kimberly Senior
• Conceived/produced by Diane Alexander
• Ticketmaster link: https://www.ticketmaster.com/certain-woman-of-an-age-tickets/artist/2671105

The Swimmer: The Diana Nyad Story

• September 26, 27, and 28 only at the Minetta Lane Theatre
• All performances at 7PM
• Written and performed by Diana Nyad
• Directed by Jane Anderson
• Featuring Bonnie Stoll
• Ticketmaster link: https://www.ticketmaster.com/the-swimmer-ny-tickets/artist/2671102

Certain Woman of an Age and The Swimmer will be phone-free experiences. Upon arrival at the theater, guests must secure all phones, smart watches, etc. in a lockable Yondr pouch that will remain in their possession throughout the performance and will be unlocked at the end of the show. This is intended to create a truly memorable and personal experience.

Award-winning and critically acclaimed Audible performances of captivating stage productions starring Billy Crudup, Judith Light, John Lithgow, Carey Mulligan, Aasif Mandvi and others are available for download at www.audible.com/theater.

Additional events at the Minetta Lane Theatre will be announced in the coming months and Audible has also announced live performances in London and Los Angeles. Information about previous and future live programming produced by Audible is available here.

ABOUT MARGARET TRUDEAU

Margaret Trudeau is a Canadian icon, celebrated both for her role in the public eye as the wife of Canada's 15th Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, and as a respected mental-health issues advocate. From becoming a prime minister's wife at a young age, to the loss of both her son and her former husband, to living with bi-polar disorder, Margaret tirelessly shares her personal stories to remind others of the importance of nurturing the body, mind, and spirit. Margaret is the author of four books, including her bestselling title, Changing My Mind, which charts her life's ups and downs, and her latest title, The Time of Your Life, which offers women an inspirational and practical approach to creating a healthy, happy, secure and satisfying future. Margaret sits on the Executive Advisory Board of the UBC Mental Health Institute as a community advocate, and she is the former Honorary President of WaterAid, a charitable Canadian non-governmental agency that is dedicated to helping poor communities in developing countries build sustainable water-supply and sanitation services. She is also the proud mother to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

ABOUT KIMBERLY SENIOR

Kimberly Senior is a freelance director and the director of the 2013 Pulitzer Prizewinning play Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Most recently, Kimberly made her HBO debut with Chris Gethard: Career Suicide, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Kimberly was awarded the 2016 TCG Alan Schneider Award. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Special Non-Equity Jeff Award for her work as a trail blazer, champion, and role model for emerging artists and the 2018 Primary Stages Einhorn Mentorship Award. New York Credits: Disgraced (Broadway); Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (Judd Apatow); The Niceties (Manhattan Theatre Club); Sakina's Restaurant (Audible); The Who and The What; Disgraced (LCT3); Discord (Primary Stages); Engagements (Second Stage Uptown). Regional Credits: Christmas at Pemberley (Milwaukee Rep); The Niceties (Huntington); Sheltered (Alliance Theatre); Support Group for Men; Disgraced; Rapture, Blister, Burn (Goodman Theatre); Buried Child; The Scene; Marjorie Prime; Diary of Anne Frank; Hedda Gabler; The Letters (Writers Theatre); Other Than Honorable (Geva); Sex with Strangers (The GeffenPlayhouse); Disgraced (Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre); The Who and The What (La Jolla Playhouse); Little Gem (City Theatre); Want; The North Plan (Steppenwolf); among others.

ABOUT DIANA NYAD

In 2011, The Dayton Daily News declared Nyad, “The toughest athlete in the world is a 62 year-old woman.” Nyad first gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around New York's Manhattan Island, and again in 1979 when she swam 102.5 miles from North Bimini, Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida. In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at the age of 64, she became the first person confirmed to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming 111 miles from Havana to Key West in 53 hours. In July of 2010, at the age of 60, she began her “Xtreme Dream” quest of swimming from Cuba to Florida, a task she had failed to finish thirty years previously. Nyad was unsuccessful in her quest in 2010 and tried two more times 2011 and 2012, battling deadly jellyfish stings and rough weather conditions before finally fulfilling her dream in 2013. After gaining fame as a record-breaking distance swimmer, Nyad became a prominent sports broadcaster and journalist for NPR, ABC's Wide World of Sports, Fox Sports, and The New York Times. A successful author, she's written the memoir Other Shores as well as Diana Nyad's Basic Training for Women and Boss of Me: The Keyshawn Johnson Story. In 2015, she published, Find a Way, which covers her efforts to swim from Cuba to Florida. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, Nyad has also earned the reputation of a uniquely passionate and entertaining public motivational speaker, earning standing ovations with a broad spectrum of audiences, from AARP to the stages of TED. Nyad has been inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

ABOUT JANE ANDERSON

Jane Anderson is an Emmy award-winning writer and director for theater, film and television. Her plays have been produced Off-Broadway and in theaters around the country. Her latest play, Mother of the Maid, premiered at the Public Theater in 2018 and starred Glenn Close. Other plays include: The Baby Dance, Defying Gravity, Looking for Normal, The Quality of Life, The Escort, Lynette at 3AM, Food & Shelter and The Last Time We Saw Her. Screenwriting credits: The Wife, starring Glenn Close, How to Make An American Quilt, It Could Happen to You and The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio, starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, which she also directed. Documentary film: Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson, featured on HBO. Television writing credits: HBO's Olive Kitteridge, starring Frances McDormand for which she received an Emmy Award for best teleplay and limited series, a Writers Guild Award for best teleplay and nominated for the Golden Globe for best limited series. She wrote HBO's The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom, for which she received an Emmy, Penn Award and Writers Guild Award for best teleplay. She wrote and directed The Baby Dance for Showtime which she adapted from her play and received the Peabody Award as well as Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. She wrote and directed Normal for HBO (starring Jessica Lang and Tom Wilkinson) adapted from her play Looking for Normal which received Emmy, Golden Globe and Directors' Guild and Writers' Guild nominations for best writing and directing. She wrote and directed When Billie Beat Bobby starring Holly Hunter and Ron Silver. And wrote and directed the first segment of HBO's If These Walls Could Talk II which starred Vanessa Redgrave for which she received an Emmy nomination for best teleplay.