[7] While a student, she was associated with anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist causes; more recently, she describes her politics as democratic socialist.

About secret service infiltration of an activist organisation, the play brought her to public attention and she began to stage more work across Australia.

A play about marriage as a metaphor for capitalism, it then toured to the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe,[11] Her 2003 play Camarilla was a critical success at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, cementing Badham's international reputation as a proponent of radical political theatre.

[18] The world premiere of The Questions, a musical co-written by Badham with Richard Wise, was staged by the State Theatre Company of South Australia, in July/August 2024, directed by Mitchell Butel.

[25] In 2013 Badham began publishing political commentary and arts criticism for the Guardian Australia website.

[26] Her commentary has also appeared in publications The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Irish Times, Der Freitag, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Women's Agenda, Australian Cosmopolitan, and Daily Life.