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
    Glengarry Glen Ross – Mamet without the men

    An all-female staging of the 1980s macho classic about cut-throat Chicago real estate sales can’t fail to entertain

    Mon, 22 Jun 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Indira Varma: ‘My adrenal glands are on full throttle’

    The actor on starring in an all-female Glengarry Glen Ross

    Tue, 9 Jun 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    ‘Vision is a dangerous thing’: Cheek by Jowl film Acting reveals hidden art of the stage

    Fly-on-the-wall documentary by Sophie Fiennes gives a rare glimpse of the award-winning theatre company’s methods as it prepares to put on Macbeth

    Fri, 5 Jun 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Historic lost issues of actors directory are found with help from The Observer

    Last month we put out a call on behalf of Spotlight magazine in the hope of finding its missing first editions. They will now be part of its centenary celebrations next year

    Sun, 31 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Lloyd’s acknowledges historic role in slave trade with new requiem mass

    The commission is the company’s latest effort to recognise its involvement in insuring ships and slave owners, but such gestures also draw criticism

    Sat, 30 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    ‘Have you seen Club Kid yet?’ Why everyone in Cannes is asking the same question

    Director Jordan Firstman had the ‘best week of my life’ after his film Club Kid – about a gay party promoter who suddenly becomes a parent – cinched a $17m deal on the Croisette

    Sun, 24 May 2026

  • Vanessa Thorpe
    Who’ll do it? Actors line up for the title role as BBC reboots Poirot

    Agatha Christie’s fastidious Belgian sleuth is coming back to the small screen but mystery surrounds casting of star

    Sun, 24 May 2026

  • 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

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