Margaret Trudeau is bringing her one-woman show “Certain Woman of an Age” to NYC at the Minetta Lane Theatre.

Co-written by Trudeau and Alix Sobler and directed by Kimberly Senior, the play sees Trudeau speaking openly about her life as Canada’s first lady (and mother of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s current prime minister), losing son Michel and her former husband, and living with bipolar depression.

Trudeau is a renowned mental health advocate, public speaker, and the author of four books. Her latest title, “The Time of Your Life,” offers women an inspirational and practical approach to creating a satisfying future. She sits on the executive advisory board of the UBC Mental Health Institute as a community advocate. 

You can catch “Certain Woman of an Age“  on stage September 13 and 14. It will be recorded live for Audible Theater. Tickets are available here.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

W&H: In “Certain Woman of an Age,” you discuss your marriages and divorces, personal tragedy — the death of your son, Michel — and your subsequent diagnosis with bipolar disorder and advocacy for mental health in the course of 90 minutes. Can you talk about the process of bringing your story to life?

MT: My producer, Diane Alexander, approached me about working together many years ago. We started this project when a personal tragedy delayed things. But we finally shook hands last summer and had the first show in May in Chicago.

I’ve written four books and speak publicly as a mental health advocate. That’s my work all the time. I always write my speeches linearly; I start at the beginning and end at the end, and that’s it. Alix Sobler, an amazing scriptwriter, took all of my words and helped create a really fun play with different dimensions and layers. It’s not a linear story; we just tried to get the best examples out of my bizarre and full life. These are the things I have been trying to talk about it. 

W&H: Is this something you had been thinking about doing for some time?

MT: It really just came out of the blue. It started out as a very small project at Second City in the development stage. I studied acting in NY a long, long time ago. It was on my bucket list, but I never thought it would happen and I’d be here presenting my story on stage.

As a mental health advocate, if I can have a stage, I am so committed to breaking the stigma and stopping people from having fear of an illness you can’t recover from.

W&H: The play premiered in a comedy club but it actually touches heavy topics. It must be very fulfilling to know you are making a difference in people’s lives through your words.

MT: It really is. I’ve been doing this for some time. I can tell you that people need to wake up to their fears and realize they are not helpful. By accepting your diagnosis of mental illness, you can then seek treatment. That was certainly my path. It wasn’t easy; it’s work to get better. Like any other illness, you have to give in to it. The biggest thing that keeps people from getting help is denial and not accepting the truth about their mental illness.

W&H: Is it cathartic to tell your story in this way?

MT: I don’t think I can use catharsis as a way to describe it anymore. I love the play every time. I’m in it every time. Sometimes I try to keep my emotions out. It’s just such a strong piece, and it’s all true.

The best compliment I ever get from are from people who have heard me speak and come after to buy my book and get it signed. It’s not about the same gender or the same age; nothing is the same. It’s that people look me in the eye and say, “Margaret, you could have been talking about me.”

I’m trying to reduce [mental illness] and normalize it. It’s just what it is. It’s something you can take on. There are lots of ways to make it happen, and I want to help people do that.

W&H: How did you decide which stories to put into the show?

MT: That was hard. We had so many more. We edited the show to around 80 minutes. There were so many good stories, so many good laughs. What you have to do is create the best story that makes the point. It was difficult. I was sad to see good stories go, but they are all in my book.

W&H: You talk about a lot of famous people in the play. Which were some of your most significant memories — ones that shaped you to be the woman you are?

MT: Of course, my husband, Pierre Trudeau. He married me when I was very, very young, [22 years-old]. But all the celebrity people, it’s all nonsense. It means nothing. It’s just life. I don’t put much weight on the fancy people I met — Jack Nicholson, the Rolling Stones — they are just names. They are part of my story.

The biggest people in my life have been my family.

W&H: Is it true Gloria Steinem used to send you feminist magazines during your first marriage?

MT: She did. I loved them and brought the conversations to the dinner table with Pierre, but he did not want to hear my feminist ideas at all. He didn’t even want the magazines in the house.

W&H: In the play, you describe how your husband fought for women’s rights but wasn’t a true feminist. 

MT: His policy was feminist: equal pay, equality, 50/50 divorce. He certainly put all the good things that make a difference to women into that equation.

Personally, he really wanted to keep me pregnant, barefoot, and in the kitchen. Unfortunately, with his life, he forgot to get me a kitchen! We only had a staff kitchen.

W&H: How did you produce such a feminist son? 

MT: My mother was a feminist. I’m a feminist. I’m 71 now. Our generation now, many of us became deep feminists without even realizing we had become so. We have a strong attitude of fairness between men and women. The battle will go on forever. My sons are all beautiful feminists.

W&H: Is it hard to talk about your son, Michel, who passed away?

MT: It is hard, [but] I have to go through it. My story is a very moving one. Every story I tell is the truth. I [don’t] want people to feel that there is anything fake about it. It’s my story, and it’s not manipulated in any way. Alix just made such a good, good play.

W&H: Do you have aspirations for the play to go even further than it has?

MT: We have had a lot of offers, particularly in Canada, to take it across the country.