On the left is an image of three people, one wearing a beige suit, another a black suit and the last a white dress. On the right it reads 'The Standard Of Living'
The Standard Of Living Trailer

The Standard Of Living
Tickets From £28

Venue

Haymarket, Theatre Royal

Can you put a price on happiness, beauty and love? 

A brand new world-premiere play from the Olivier Award-winning playwright, James Graham (Punch, Dear England, Labour Of Love) explodes into the West End for a strictly limited 12-week run. 

Directed by multi award-winner Nicholas Hytner (The History Boys, One Man, Two Guvnors, Giant) and starring Olivier Award winner Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, The Diplomat) and Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova in her West End debut, this blazing new play tells the astonishing story of rebel economist and member of the Bloomsbury Group, John Maynard Keynes. 

Husband to ballerina Lydia Lopokova. Lover to Duncan Grant. Friend to Virginia Woolf. Keynes moves between the corridors of power in Whitehall and the intoxicating freedom of a radical circle of artists, writers and lovers – 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?  

Alive with music, dance, desire and debate, The Standard Of Living is a thrilling, funny and deeply moving portrait of a man who dared to imagine something better.  

Closing

12/12/2026

Running Time

2 hours and 30 minutes, including interval

Genre

Drama, Plays

Age & Content

12+ | Children under 5 years of age will not be admitted to the theatre. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult. In the interest of other patrons, parents with children are reminded they may be asked to remove any consistently noisy children.

Please Note:
  • Natalia Osipova is not scheduled to appear at the following performances: 16 Oct – evening, 21 Oct– evening, 22 Oct – matinee & evening, 26 Oct – evening, 4 Nov – evening & 5 Nov – matinee & evening

Cast:

Rory Kinnear as

John Maynard Keynes

Natalia Osipova as

Lydia Lopokova

Thomas Flynn as

Duncan Grant

Laurie Kynaston as

Friedrich Hayek

Pip Carter as

Lytton Strachey

Agatha Enecio as

Dora Carrington

Naomi Frederick as

Virginia Woolf

Claire Price as

Vanessa Bell

George Taylor as

William Beveridge

Christopher Akrill, Luke Cinque-White Dannie Norman, Xolisweh Ana Richards & Ben Warwick as

Ensemble

Creative:

Writer -

James Graham

Director -

Nicholas Hytner

Set Designer -

Bob Crowley

Costume Designer -

Jenny Beavan

Movement Director -

James Cousins

Composer -

Frank Moon

Ballet Consultant -

Edward Watson

Lighting Designer -

Bruno Poet

Sound Designer -

Carolyn Downing

Projection Designer -

Luke Halls

Casting Director -

Robert Sterne CDG

Props Supervisor -

Lily Mollgaard

Costume Supervisor -

Poppy Halls

Vocal Coach -

Jeanette Nelson

Assistant Director -

Anastasia Bunce

Book The Standard Of Living Tickets

No accessibility performances are currently scheduled for this show.

Book Tickets from £28