James Graham's new play ‘The Standard of Living’ set for West End World Premiere
Rory Kinnear and Natalia Osipova. Headshots provided by production.
A striking new play that puts one of the 20th century’s greatest thinkers centre stage is heading to the West End for a 12-week run this autumn. Written by award-winning playwright James Graham and directed by Nicholas Hytner, The Standard of Living will be staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Starring as John Maynard Keynes, Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, The Diplomat) will step into the shoes of the radical economist and member of the influential Bloomsbury Group who became the singular driving force behind arts funding in Britain and built a new and fairer financial model, that ultimately helped reshape the Western World in the aftermath of the First World War. He will be joined by Royal Ballet’s Principal Natalia Osipova, who makes her West End debut as the celebrated dancer Lydia Lopokova. She was a soloist with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes who was considered the embodiment of the new era of modernist ballet.
The Standard of Living will take audiences on a thrilling, funny and deeply moving portrait of a man who dared to imagine something better.
The play will feature set design by Olivier Award winner Bob Crowley (Giant), with further cast and creatives to be announced.
The Standard of Living will run from 21 September for a strict 12-week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. There are “Keynes Tickets” available for under 30s throughout the run priced at £25, to ensure that extraordinary new writing is accessible to the widest possible audience. Audiences can sign up now for notification of their release.
Tickets for The Standard of Living are now available at SeatPlan, where you can discover real seat views from inside the auditorium and further information about this show.
