On October 26, 2025, actor and writer Emma Thompson joined staff writer Helen Shaw for a discussion at the 26th annual New Yorker Festival, a weekend of conversations, screenings, performances and more. The festival, which became the hallmark of the magazine, was held in New York and brought together leading representatives of literature, cinema, comedy, television, politics and medicine.
Emma ThompsonOBE is one of the most respected creative talents in the world. She is the only artist to win an Oscar for both acting (Best Actress in Howards End) and screenplay (Sense and Sensibility). Her film credits also include The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father, for which she was nominated for an Oscar; “Good Luck, Leo Grande”, for which she was nominated for BAFTA and Golden Globe; and “Nanny McPhee” and others. This year she will star in two thrillers: “Winter Death”, which will premiere in September, and “Down Cemetery Road”, which will premiere in October. Thompson chairs the Helen Bamber Foundation, supports Greenpeace and Elect Her, and is a patron of the Food Foundation.
Helen Shaw, New Yorkertheater critic, joined the magazine in 2022. Previously worked as a theater critic at New York and its cultural vertical, Vulture. She has also written about theater and performance for 4Columns and Time Out New Yorkand contributed to the New York Sun, American theaterNew York Book Review Times, The Village Voice, Art in America, And Artforum. She received the 2025 Grace Dudley Award for her contributions to New Yorkerand was one of the recipients of the 2017–2018 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism.
