How do you make a play about an economist and his theories entertaining? The Standard of Living provides the answer by showing that John Maynard Keynes (played by Rory Kinnear) was considerably more interesting than his profession might suggest. Writer James Graham takes us into the world of a man with a complicated love life who was as comfortable debating monetary policy in the Civil Service as he was in the bohemian world of the Bloomsbury Group, where artists, writers and intellectuals were challenging many of the social conventions of their time.
The play follows Keynes as Europe faces economic uncertainty in the aftermath of the First World War. His belief in government intervention during periods of economic difficulty puts him at odds with those who favour a more hands-off, free-market approach. Thankfully, The Standard of Living isn’t simply an exploration of Keynesian economic theory. Alongside the politics and finance is Keynes’s colourful personal life, including his relationship with artist Duncan Grant (Thomas Flynn), liaisons with sailors in public toilets and, most significantly, his marriage to Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova (Natalia Osipova). It is this combination of the public and private Keynes that gives the play much of its interest. He is man trying to work out how the global economy should function while simultaneously attempting to work out how he should live in it.
Rory Kinnear is excellent as Keynes. He has the difficult task of making lengthy discussions about economics engaging without allowing them to become lectures and he manages to give Keynes plenty of personality along the way. Kinnear doesn’t portray him simply as a brilliant intellectual but brings out the humour, warmth and vulnerability beneath his outward confidence.
Opposite him is Royal Ballet principal dancer Natalia Osipova, making her West End acting debut as Lydia Lopokova. She brings an elegance and charm to the role, while her dancing is cleverly incorporated into the storytelling rather than just being included because she is a world-famous ballerina.
Thomas Flynn is engaging as Duncan Grant, while Laurie Kynaston brings great energy to Friedrich Hayek, Keynes’s fellow economist and ideological opponent. The wider ensemble includes members of the Bloomsbury circle, including Lytton Strachey (Pip Carter), Dora Carrington (Agatha Enecio), Virginia Woolf (Naomi Frederick) and Vanessa Bell (Claire Price). Their characters are underused considering how much time they are on stage. They rarely drive the story forward and are largely there to create a lively sense of the artistic and intellectual world surrounding Keynes. They add colour and atmosphere, but I was left wishing that some of these fascinating figures had been given more to do.
One of the great strengths of Graham’s writing is the way he makes complex economic ideas accessible. In one particularly effective explanation, Keynes describes how a pound spent in a pub can circulate around a village as people use it to buy goods and services, before eventually finding its way back to the pub where it started. Yet, as Keynes points out, the most important part of that pound’s journey isn’t simply the economic activity it generates, but the enjoyment it brings people along the way.
Nicholas Hytner’s direction keeps the play’s different strands moving, shifting between the political world of Whitehall and the more carefree atmosphere of Bloomsbury. He also makes effective use of music, movement and dance, giving the production some visual variety during the lengthy discussions about economic theory.
Bob Crowley’s set design provides plenty of visual interest. Screens move across the stage with images of art and archival photographs from the period projected onto them. They transform the stage between the formal world of government and the more relaxed surroundings inhabited by Keynes and his Bloomsbury friends.
However, the play does suffer from the amount of ground it tries to cover and the complexity of some of the issues it tackles. James Graham’s ingenious writing and Rory Kinnear’s charming performance weren’t always enough to prevent some scenes from feeling a bit like an economics lecture. I came away with a greater understanding of Keynes and an increased respect for the ideas that shaped modern economics, but I didn’t always find it as exciting as I had hoped. The Standard of Living is an interesting rather than consistently compelling play, but there is plenty to admire in its ambition, intelligent writing and strong performances. It may not make economics thrilling but it certainly makes Keynes and the world he inhabited considerably more fascinating.
NEED TO KNOW: The Standard of Living plays at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 12 Dec 2026
