Emily's work focuses on amplifying little heard personal stories, and from the difference that hearing these stories can make in policy, practice, and daily life for both teller and listener. She has a particular interest in stories of feminist action, the maternal, gender, health/illness, and heritage.  Emily is Professor of Performance Studies at the University of South Wales, where she is Co-Director of the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling and has led externally funded research projects which have been awarded a total of over £10 million by organisations including Wellcome, UKRI, National Lottery, and European Regional Development Fund. Emily supervises postgraduate research students and teach across the drama and performance curriculum at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and co-chairs the ‘Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Violence Research Network Wales’. 

Emily's most recent publications include the co-authored book with Dr Lena Šimić Maternal Performance: Feminist Relations (Palgrave 2021), the edited collection, again with Dr Lena Šimić, Mothering Performance (Routledge 2022) and a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal Storytelling Self Society ‘Storytelling for Health’ (2019).