Photo of Vanessa Thorpe
Vanessa Thorpe

Arts and Media Editor

Vanessa has covered arts and media for The Observer in interviews, reviews, news, comment and profiles, for two decades - even appearing as art on The Fourth Plinth. After training with Westminster Press, she worked for the London Evening Standard and The Independent on Sunday. She has won awards for her work, including being shortlisted for her writing on culture at the 2023 British Journalism Awards. She contributes to cultural magazines and radio shows.

Photo of Vanessa Thorpe

Vanessa Thorpe

Arts and Media Editor

Vanessa has covered arts and media for The Observer in interviews, reviews, news, comment and profiles, for two decades - even appearing as art on The Fourth Plinth. After training with Westminster Press, she worked for the London Evening Standard and The Independent on Sunday. She has won awards for her work, including being shortlisted for her writing on culture at the 2023 British Journalism Awards. She contributes to cultural magazines and radio shows.

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    At Cannes this year, fractured families are everywhere

    Trouble begins at home for the Palme d’Or frontrunners

    Thu, 21 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Alan Cumming: ‘I can’t believe it’s my job to run this theatre’

    The Tip Toe actor on celebrating Scottish talent in Pitlochry

    Wed, 20 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    How a love-starved childhood inspired David Lean, cinema’s great romantic

    A new documentary highlights the brutal relationship with his father that shaped the director’s life and work

    Sat, 16 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Sun, sea and sexy slashers at Cannes film festival

    Gillian Anderson lights up the Croisette for her role in the headline-making queer horror Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

    Fri, 15 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    A royal tribute fitting for Attenborough... from Camilla’s dog Moley

    Animals featured large in the naturalist’s 100th birthday video message from the king and queen at Balmoral, but one was more equal than the others

    Sun, 10 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Dame Felicity Lott reveals terminal cancer diagnosis ahead of dress auction for hospice

    Opera star tells how she planned charity sale of designer gowns just weeks before learning of her own illness

    Sun, 10 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Aigul Akhmetshina: ‘There’s truth in what Timothée Chalamet said’

    The acclaimed Bashkir mezzo-soprano on what young people want from opera, the toll of performing Carmen, and why she’ll never call herself a diva

    Sat, 9 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    What to do this weekend, from Banksy’s statue to a Soho clown show

    Our critic picks five cultural highlights, whether you have a few minutes, an hour or a night out to spare

    Fri, 8 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Fridamania: How the Mexican artist became a global brand

    What would the Mexican artist have made of all the merch accompanying a new exhibition? She’d probably have loved it, says her biographer

    Sun, 3 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    New play gives audiences the chance to vent fury over Epstein scandal

    Theatregoers will be invited to ‘hurl abuse’ in immersive performance that puts women’s voices centre stage

    Sun, 26 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Search for a star... the lost showbusiness bible that could be lurking in your attic

    A roadshow celebrating 100 years of Spotlight won’t be complete unless the first 1927 editions can be found

    Sun, 26 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    A white elephant, a giant chessboard and an opera: this year’s Turner Prize nominees promise an enticing visual feast

    Three women and one man will vie for Britain’s top art award with an exhibition in Middlesbrough

    Thu, 23 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Celebrity offenders fuel boom in private speed awareness courses

    Eddie Redmayne latest to be penalised as more drivers avoid points on their licence by taking one-to-one class

    Sun, 19 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    British censors adopt AI to age-rate streamer favourites

    The British Board of Film Classification has rated all of HBO’s UK catalogues, from Game of Thrones to Succession, in only six months. It would have taken an officer six years

    Thu, 16 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Paddington hopes to grab theatre prize by the paws

    The musical about the ursine Londoner is a top contender at tonight’s Olivier awards

    Sun, 12 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Playwright Suzie Miller: ‘Everything I write has a touch of my lived life’

    The Olivier award-winning writer of Prima Facie and Inter Alia reveals what’s going on trial next

    Fri, 10 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    The super-rich set up camp in the British countryside

    Tax breaks, US politics and new planning laws attract a host of celebs

    Sun, 5 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Kanye West’s Wireless appearance courts controversy, and for good reason

    In London, a city rocked by antisemitic hate crimes, an artist with a history of praising Hitler has been chosen to perform at a summer music festival. Why?

    Thu, 2 Apr 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Is £3m up your street? The hunt is on for first UK ‘town of culture’

    A judging panel led by Phil Redmond will be looking for signs of a strong local identity and lots in the way of arts and heritage

    Sun, 29 Mar 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Scottish poet’s dying wish to be denied after clerical error

    White wanted his Brittany home turned into an artists’ residence. Now it may be sold on the open market

    Sun, 29 Mar 2026

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