The Standard of Living Tickets

Husband to ballerina Lydia Lopokova, lover to the painter Duncan Grant, and friend to Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes moves between the corridors of power in Whitehall and the intoxicating freedom of a radical circle of artists, writers and lovers who are all determined to live differently.

But as markets crash, old systems crumble and Britain teeters on the edge of chaos, one question begins to consume him: what is a good life? Can art, love and human connection reshape the future before it’s too late, or is the world too addicted to wealth and power to change?

Alive with music, dance, desire and debate, The Standard of Living tells the little-known story of the radical thinker who built a new and fairer financial model in the aftermath of the First World War, and who made it possible for theatre and art of all kinds to flourish in Britain. It is a thrilling, funny and deeply moving portrait of a man who dared to imagine something better.

A landmark reunion

The Standard of Living reunites James Graham and Nicholas Hytner, a partnership that began in 2012 when Hytner commissioned Graham’s breakout hit This House for the National Theatre. It also marks a reunion between Hytner and Rory Kinnear, who have collaborated repeatedly across some of the most acclaimed productions of recent years. With Graham fresh from his Olivier Award win for Punch and a string of stage and screen successes, this is one of the most eagerly awaited new plays of the West End season.

Who is in the cast of The Standard of Living?

• Rory Kinnear (Hamlet, The Diplomat) as John Maynard Keynes
• Natalia Osipova as Lydia Lopokova, making her West End debut
• Thomas Flynn (Masters of the Sky, Bridgerton) as Keynes’ lover, Duncan Grant
• Laurie Kynaston (Spring Awakening) as Keynes’ economic rival Friedrich Hayek
• Pip Carter (1917) as writer and critic Lytton Strachey
• Agatha Enecio as Bloomsbury group artist Dora Carrington, making her stage debut.
• Naomi Frederick (As You Like It) as writer Virginia Woolf
• Claire Price (The Second Best Marigold Hotel) as Vanessa Bell
• George Taylor (Rye Lane) as economist William Beveridge.

Completing the cast in the wider ensemble is Christopher Akrill, Luke Cinque-White Dannie Norman, Xolisweh Ana Richards and Ben Warwick .

Who are the creative team of The Standard of Living?

• Writer: James Graham (Dear England, Punch, This House, Sherwood)
• Director: Nicholas Hytner (The History Boys, One Man Two Guvnors, Giant)
• Set Design: Bob Crowley (Giant, The Inheritance, An American in Paris)

The creative team also includes Costume Design by Jenny Beavan. The Movement Director is James Cousins, the Composer is Frank Moon and the Ballet Consultant is Edward Watson. The Lighting Designer is Bruno Poet, the Sound Designer is Carolyn Downing, the Projection Designer is Luke Halls, the Casting Director is Robert Sterne CDG, Props Supervisor is Lily Mollgaard, Costume Supervisor is Poppy Halls, the Vocal Coach is Jeanette Nelson and the Assistant Director is Anastasia Bunce.

“Rory Kinnear has bags of charm as Bloomsbury economist Keynes” The Guardian

“Almost certainly the most enjoyable play about an economist ever written.” Time Out

“You won't be bored.” The Times