Crying Out Loud’s Artistic Director, Rachel Clare celebrates the life of the remarkable Emma Gladstone whose funeral took place on Friday 16th February.
As a co-director in the pioneering years of Crying Out Loud, from 2003 to 2005, Emma ignited and shaped the direction of our work in many ways.
In those early days we were working with big ideas on shoe-string budgets, initiating exciting cross-genre performance work for all ages, an area we were both passionate about – which was so rare at that time. Emma’s infectious enthusiasm, energy, and acute sense of the aesthetic, grew projects which were trendsetting and fun to be part of.
One I always remember was Oogly Boogly, an interactive installation for 18 month olds and their parents/carers, which toured the UK and internationally in Australia and Europe in the 2000’s. There are so many others I could mention, but Oogly Boogly was a forerunner of the work for early years that exists today.
There has been much sharing of appreciation and love of Emma in the last weeks. We add our love and gratitude.
Thank you Emma.
You can read the Guardian obituary and dip into our archive to read more on Oogly Boogly.
Clockwise from bottom right: Emma Gladstone, Martin Gent, Sinéad Rushe, Hannah Bruce, Guy Dartnell and Carly Annable-Coop.
