The Standard of Living Tickets

When actor Laurie Kynaston, currently playing Friedrich Hayek in James Graham’s The Standard of Living at the Theatre Royal Haymarket opposite Rory Kinnear, was growing up in mid-Wales, his local comprehensive school had a drama studio and “two great drama teachers".  Kynaston says that the experience and exposure to drama at school “made me an actor", but wonders whether those who have come after him have been so lucky. He points to a recent report which found that students in the most deprived local authorities are three times less likely to take GCSE drama than their peers in more affluent areas. “Every child deserves the opportunities I had.”  Aged 19, Kynaston moved to London, paid £440 a month to live in Archway (“which nobody would be able to do now") and has had an enviable career both on TV and in the theatre playing the lead role in Florian Zeller’s The Son, Melchior in Spring Awakening at the Almeida, Edmund Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey into Night and earlier this year Basil in Terrence Rattigan’s Man and Boy at the National.  He’s found success playing moody teenagers, but the role of Hayek, the Austrian philosopher and economist, in Nicholas Hytner’s production pits Kynaston as the antagonist to Kinnear’s protagonist, John Maynard Keynes. “It’s thrilling,” he says, “because I’m working with people who are all at the top of their game, so you learn something new every day.” A key scene in The Standard of Living has both men working as fire wardens on the roof of King’s College Chapel in Cambridge during the war. Keynes ponders on the need to dream a new world and the necessity of feeding the imagination in order to do that. Hayek retorts, "You feel free to dream, Mr Keynes. I like being awake.”  It sums up the difference in outlook between the two economists. Hayek believed that when there was an economic downturn, the market would eventually correct it, and it was dangerous to try and intervene. Keynes argued that you should spend in the bad times because that was the only way to grow the economy. In the post-war period when the UK was emerging from the war and financially on its knees, he dreamed big. Keynes was an architect of the Arts Council, believing that everyone needed beauty in their loves and the arts could be an economic driver. For Kynaston, what’s key is the way Graham depicts both men and their very different standpoints. “They didn’t agree with each other, but they respected each other’s views.”

The Standard of Living has arrived in London for a strictly limited season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Written by three-time Olivier Award winner James Graham and directed by Nicholas Hytner, the world premiere explores the life, loves and ideas of economist John Maynard Keynes against a backdrop of political and economic upheaval. With Rory Kinnear and Natalia Osipova leading the cast, what have the critics made of this ambitious new play? What is The Standard of Living about? The Standard of Living follows John Maynard Keynes (Rory Kinnear), the influential economist whose ideas helped shape Britain’s financial system in the aftermath of the First World War. Moving between the world of Whitehall and the artistic circles of the Bloomsbury Group, Keynes finds himself questioning what really makes a life worth living. His relationship with Lydia Lopokova (Natalia Osipova), the celebrated Russian ballerina, becomes central to both his personal and professional life. As financial markets collapse and the established order begins to shift, Keynes must reckon with questions of wealth, power, art, love and what society should truly value. Written by James Graham, The Standard of Living brings together politics, economics, art and movement in a sweeping exploration of one of the twentieth century’s most influential thinkers.

The life and times  of an economist, John Maynard Keynes, may seem an improbable subject for a new play, but given that The Standard of Living (Theatre Royal Haymarket) is written by James Graham who has turned the England dressing room (Dear England), the chief whips offices (This House) and the 2008 financial crisis (Make It Happen) into riveting theatre, this is unlikely to be a problem. Besides Keynes - played here by Rory Kinnear - was no dry academic but a colourful man who ran with the Bloomsbury set, was openly bisexual and sexually voracious and supported eugenics. So, a complicated chap and one whose ideas about the economy remain influential today. Still not persuaded? Nicholas Hytner directs.     The Baker and his wife want a child but have been cursed with infertility. But the curse could be broken if they go Into the Woods (Noel Coward) and collect a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as cow, a slipper as pure as gold and a cow as white as milk. So begins Stephen Sondheim’s glorious mash-up of fairytales which arrives at the Noel Coward in a transfer from the Bridge. It is a very classy evening in Jordan Fein’s superb revival which comes with a real forest created by designer Tom Scutt, and a terrific cast including John Dalgleish, Kate Fleetwood and Laura Pitt-Pulford. A brilliant musical reminder that happy ever after is never quite what it’s cracked up to be. 

The world premiere of The Standard of Living is coming to the West End for a strictly limited run from 21 September to 12 December at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The play is written by James Graham and stars Rory Kinnear, Natalia Osipova and Thomas Flynn. We’re here to tell you everything we know so far about this highly anticipated bold new play.  What is The Standard of Living about? The Standard of Living is a new play about art, love and human connection and whether the world is too bound to wealth and power to change.  Set during an economic collapse, John Maynard Keynes, a radical economist hopes to reshape Britain’s financial system post First World War. The country is experience a cultural upheaval, with grief, yet hope - searching for the meaning of a life well lived.  Keynes, a key figure in the Bloomsbury Group, an influential and radical collective of writers, artists and thinkers, with all the same mission - to live differently. Within this community, celebrated Russian ballerina and a fringe member of society, Lydia Lopokova becomes a key romantic part of Keynes life.  As markets crash, old systems begin to collapse, Keynes must confront a personal and political question: what is a good life, and what should society value above all else? 

What is The Standard of Living about? The Standard of Living is a new play by James Graham set during a period of economic crisis and cultural change in early 20th-century Britain. It follows John Maynard Keynes’s attempt to understand what makes a meaningful life, as old systems begin to collapse and society questions what it truly values. At its heart, the play asks whether art, love and human connection can reshape the world—or whether humanity is too bound to wealth and power to change course. Who is John Maynard Keynes? Rory Kinnear plays John Maynard Keynes, the influential British economist whose ideas helped reshape modern financial systems in the aftermath of the First World War. A member of the Bloomsbury Group, Keynes moved between the political establishment in Whitehall and a radical artistic circle that included writers, artists and dancers. His personal and intellectual life was closely entwined with Lydia Lopokova, a celebrated Russian ballerina who becomes a central figure in the story. Who else is in the cast and creative team? Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova makes her West End debut as Lydia Lopokova. The production is directed by Nicholas Hytner, with set design by Bob Crowley, bringing together a leading creative team for the world premiere.