‘If a person isn’t conscious, they’re not saying yes’: Cynthia Erivo on her searing new film about sexual assault

In Prima Facie, she plays a rising-star barrister, well versed in defending men accused of sexual violence. Then she is raped by a colleague, and her world implodes. Erivo talks about the potential impact of the film – and how she is navigating her stratospheric success

Cynthia Erivo is contemplating her favourite crisps, the ridged American brand Ruffles, as we sit talking in a quiet corner of a west London restaurant. Dressed all in black and sporting her signature elongated nails, she is known for her healthy lifestyle, but everyone, it seems, has their vices. “Ruffles are just perfect,” she says. “When you get a good batch, and the salt-to-potato ratio is perfect … it’s amazing.”

Erivo has just touched down after singing in Phoenix, Arizona, the night before, and has been running me through the health routine that helps her maintain her frantic schedule. Before her concert, there was the Dior front row at Paris fashion week, and she has just been announced as a guest host on SNL UK. Erivo doesn’t drink alcohol (today she orders some peppermint tea); she’s vegan; she doesn’t eat airline food, only her own prepacked meals. She even has an infra-red sauna “to help me heal from the inside”. Earlier this year she ran the London Marathon before jumping on stage to perform Dracula, where she played all 23 parts; she had rehearsed her lines while going on gruelling marathon training runs. All that requires discipline – and snacks – to keep the show on the road.

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