The Standard of Living Tickets in London at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Standard of Living is James Graham's new play about the economist John Maynard Keynes, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and it's at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 12 December 2026 only. Rory Kinnear plays Keynes, and the Royal Ballet principal Natalia Osipova is the ballerina Lydia Lopokova, the woman he married, in her first ever play.
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Who's The Standard of Living For?
Anyone who's enjoyed James Graham's other plays, Dear England and Punch among them, because this is another story about real people. It's also a rare chance for ballet fans to see Natalia Osipova act, in a play where dance moves the story on, and it will suit anyone curious about Keynes, Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group.
It's not the one to book if you want a musical. There's original music and there's dance, but it's a play first and foremost.
What Tickets Cost
The show has sold very well, and a lot of performances are either sold out or very busy. Tickets start from around £30 and go up to around £255 for the best seats, with a few performances a little higher.
On the eight performances when Natalia Osipova isn't on, the best seats cost less, at around £200. The cheapest tickets are the same price as on any other night.
It's a strictly limited run of twelve weeks, and some performances in the first half of October already have only the higher-priced seats left.
The lowest prices are for the Gallery and the side blocks of the Upper Circle. For a group, call us and we'll look for seats together.
About The Standard of Living at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Standard of Living is a brand-new play, and this is its world premiere. James Graham wrote it and Nicholas Hytner directs, with sets by Bob Crowley and costumes by Jenny Beavan.
It covers Keynes's life from the First World War to his death in 1946, moving between Whitehall and the artists and writers of the Bloomsbury Group. Dance is part of it too, with solos taking the play from one scene to the next and Edward Watson as ballet consultant. The music is new, by composer Frank Moon.
It runs about 2 hours 30 minutes, with a 20-minute interval. It's suggested for ages 12 and up, and there are no published content warnings. Keynes's relationships with men, including Duncan Grant, are part of the story.
What's The Standard of Living About?
Lydia Lopokova is a ballerina. The man she marries in 1925 is John Maynard Keynes, the economist, and his best man is Duncan Grant, who has been Keynes's lover.
In the week, Keynes works in Whitehall. At weekends he goes to Charleston and his Bloomsbury friends, Virginia Woolf among them, who mostly disapprove of his work for the Treasury and the war. Then the markets crash and Britain edges towards chaos. His rival, the economist Friedrich Hayek, is part of the story too.
With all that going on, Keynes becomes consumed by what makes a good life, and whether you can put a price on happiness, beauty and love.
Performance Schedule
The Standard of Living plays Monday to Saturday, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday, and there's no Sunday performance. The evening start time changes during the week, 7pm from Monday to Wednesday, 7:30pm from Thursday to Saturday, so check the time on your ticket.
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | - | 7pm |
| Tuesday | - | 7pm |
| Wednesday | - | 7pm |
| Thursday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Friday | - | 7:30pm |
| Saturday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Sunday | - | - |
Previews began on 21 September, it opened on Tuesday 29 September, and the final performance is Saturday 12 December 2026 at 7:30pm.
Dates Natalia Osipova isn't on
Dannie Norman plays Lydia Lopokova at these performances:
- Friday 16 October, 7:30pm
- Wednesday 21 October, 7pm
- Thursday 22 October, 2:30pm and 7:30pm
- Monday 26 October, 7pm
- Wednesday 4 November, 7pm
- Thursday 5 November, 2:30pm and 7:30pm
That's the schedule as it stood on 28 September 2026, and casting can change, so if you're booking to see Osipova, call us and we'll check your date.
Best Seats for The Standard of Living
Book rows B to E in the middle of the Royal Circle for the best view in the theatre, or rows D to K in the middle of the Stalls to be closer.
The Stalls sit low and the stage is high, so row A means looking up all night. The back rows of the Stalls, from about R, lose the top of the stage under the Royal Circle.
The Royal Circle curves round at the sides, so the seats at the ends of the first row lose the front corners of the stage.
The Upper Circle sides are sold as restricted view, and the Gallery is benches, high up. Both are the cheapest way in.
Every level is covered in the Tickets and Best Seats tab.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll tell you what's left on your date.
Cast and Creative Team
Rory Kinnear plays Keynes. He's a two-time Olivier winner, and on screen he's Bill Tanner in the Bond films.
Natalia Osipova plays Lydia Lopokova, a Royal Ballet principal making her West End debut.
The full company and creative team are in the Cast and Creatives tab.
Book The Standard of Living Tickets
The Standard of Living is at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for twelve weeks only, closing on 12 December 2026. All-in pricing, so the price you see is what you pay. If you're booking to see Natalia Osipova, or you'd like help choosing seats, give us a call.
Find tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Dates & tickets
FAQs
No. She isn't scheduled at eight performances between 16 October and 5 November, when Dannie Norman plays Lydia. They're listed under the Performance Schedule. Casting can change, so call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll check your date.
No, it's a play. There's original music by Frank Moon, and dance solos mark the changes of scene, but it isn't a musical and it isn't a ballet.
From around £30 up to around £255, with all-in pricing. The best seats cost less, around £200, on the eight performances when Natalia Osipova isn't on. Call us on 020 7193 9050 for prices on your date.
The running time is about 2 hours 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. A 7pm performance finishes at about 9:30pm, a 7:30pm performance at about 10pm and a 2:30pm matinee at about 5pm.
At the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a few minutes from Piccadilly Circus, until 12 December 2026.
It's The Standard of Living, about John Maynard Keynes from the First World War to his death in 1946: his marriage to the ballerina Lydia Lopokova, his friends in the Bloomsbury Group and his work in Whitehall.
Yes. Laurie Kynaston plays Friedrich Hayek, the economist who argued against almost everything Keynes stood for. Their scenes together are some of the best in the play, according to the critics, especially the two of them on fire watch together during the Blitz.
Rory Kinnear (Keynes), Natalia Osipova (Lydia Lopokova), Thomas Flynn (Duncan Grant), Naomi Frederick (Virginia Woolf), Laurie Kynaston (Friedrich Hayek), Claire Price (Vanessa Bell), Alex Blake (Clive Bell) and Pip Carter (Lytton Strachey).
It's suggested for ages 12 and up. That's guidance rather than a rule, and there are no published content warnings. Keynes's relationships with men, including the painter Duncan Grant, are part of the story, and it's a play of ideas as much as incident, so it suits a teenager who likes a talky evening. Everyone needs their own ticket.
Mostly three and four stars, though the Independent and The Stage gave it two. Almost every critic praised Rory Kinnear, and the Telegraph called it "another belter". Some found it tries to fit in too much. The full round-up is in What the Critics Say.
Royal Circle rows B to E in the middle block, or Stalls rows D to K in the middle. The full level-by-level guide is in the Tickets and Best Seats tab, or call us on 020 7193 9050.
There isn't one, so wear whatever you're comfortable in. Anything goes, though a big hat will not make you popular with the person behind.
You'll be held until a suitable break in the performance, and the production doesn't publish when those breaks are. The first act runs well over an hour, so a late arrival could mean waiting some time. Aim to arrive 15 to 20 minutes before, no later.
Yes: captioned on Wednesday 28 October at 7pm (the captioned seats have sold out) and audio described on Wednesday 11 November at 7pm, with a touch tour before the show. Both are booked through the theatre's own access team, not through us.
Tickets and Best Seats for The Standard of Living
Tickets run from around £30 to around £255, all-in, with the top price lower, around £200, on the eight performances Natalia Osipova isn't on. It's an old theatre that hasn't been modernised inside, so seats are narrower and legroom tighter than in newer venues. The middle of each level is where you want to be.
Royal Circle
The Royal Circle is where we'd sit. Rows B to E, in the middle block, are the seats to book here, and they're among the most expensive. Row A is good too, with enough slope to see over the row in front.
The level curves round at the sides, and the seats at the very ends of row A lose the front corners of the stage. The end seats of rows G and H are sold as restricted view.
Stalls
The middle of the Stalls from row D to row K is the other top pick, close to the actors. The Stalls are one block with no centre aisle.
Skip row A if you can. The stage is high, so you look up at it all evening, and the floor hardly slopes before row H, so a tall person in front can get in the way.
The outer few seats of each row from about row H back look past the side wall as well as at the stage.
From about row R back, the Royal Circle above cuts off the top of the stage, and you're a long way back.
Upper Circle
The middle of the Upper Circle is much cheaper and still sees the whole stage. It's steep, and row A is tight, so take row C or further back. Rows F and G in the middle are a band cheaper again.
Every seat in the side blocks is sold as restricted view, and the outer ends lose a lot of the stage. At the aisle ends of rows A to C there's a safety screen and a bar in front of you.
Gallery
The Gallery is the top level, above the Upper Circle, and it's the cheapest in the theatre. The seats are benches with fixed armrests, it's a long climb and you're a long way up. It's a cheap way to see the play, but cramped if you're tall.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we'll find the best seats left on your date.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
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Getting to the Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is on Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT, between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.
Piccadilly Circus, on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, is about 3 minutes' walk. Leicester Square and Charing Cross are also close enough to walk, and Charing Cross is the nearest mainline station.
Buses 12, 88, 159 and 453 stop on Haymarket at Charles II Street, about 130 metres from the theatre. The 9, 23 and 139 stop further down at Jermyn Street, about 220 metres away. Haymarket is one-way, so for buses going north or west after the show, walk up to Regent Street, St James's.
Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before, no later, as there may be extra security checks on the way in. Tickets are e-tickets, and the bars take cards only.
It has 860 seats. The Stalls are downstairs, with the Royal Circle, Upper Circle and Gallery above, and there's no lift, so the top two levels are a long climb.
Everything else, including access, is in our Theatre Royal Haymarket guide.
Address
Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT
Nearest Tube
Piccadilly Circus (3 min), Charing Cross (6 to 8 min) or Leicester Square (7 to 9 min)
The Standard of Living Cast
The company, as published on 28 September 2026:
- Rory Kinnear as John Maynard Keynes
- Natalia Osipova as Lydia Lopokova
- Thomas Flynn as Duncan Grant
- Laurie Kynaston as Friedrich Hayek
- Naomi Frederick as Virginia Woolf
- Claire Price as Vanessa Bell
- Alex Blake as Clive Bell
- Pip Carter as Lytton Strachey
- Agatha Enecio as Dora Carrington
- George Taylor as the Minister and Beveridge
- Luke Cinque-White as Neumann, an American Official and the Firebird Prince
- Christopher Akrill, ensemble, including the Labour Chair
- Dannie Norman, ensemble and Alternate Lydia
- Xolisweh Ana Richards, ensemble, including an LSE Professor, and understudy Lydia
- Ben Warwick, ensemble, including the Permanent Secretary, and understudy Keynes
Rory Kinnear has won two Olivier Awards: Best Actor for Iago in Othello at the National Theatre, and Best Supporting Actor for The Man of Mode in 2008. On screen he's Bill Tanner in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre, and he's in The Diplomat on television. His last stage role was in Force Majeure at the Donmar Warehouse.
Natalia Osipova joined the Royal Ballet as a principal in 2013, and her Royal Ballet credits include Giselle, Onegin and Mayerling. This is her West End debut and her first play.
Thomas Flynn is making his West End debut, and Agatha Enecio her professional stage debut.
Dannie Norman is the Alternate Lydia and plays the role at eight scheduled performances in October and November. The dates are under the Performance Schedule on the Overview tab.
Creative team
Written by James Graham and directed by Nicholas Hytner. Set by Bob Crowley, costumes by Jenny Beavan, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Carolyn Downing and projection by Luke Halls. Original music by Frank Moon. Movement direction by James Cousins, and Edward Watson is ballet consultant.
James Graham's plays include Dear England, Ink and Punch, which won the Olivier for Best New Play in 2026. Nicholas Hytner ran the National Theatre from 2003 to 2015 and co-founded the Bridge Theatre, and he directed The History Boys and One Man, Two Guvnors.
The Standard of Living Reviews
The Standard of Living opened on 29 September 2026, and the critics gave it mostly three and four stars. The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish called it "another belter" (4/5), the Evening Standard's Nick Curtis "loved the sweep and brio of it" (4/5), and WhatsOnStage's Sarah Crompton found it "both uplifting and hopeful" (4/5). The Guardian, the Times and Time Out gave three, and Time Out's Andrzej Lukowski still called it "almost certainly the most enjoyable play about an economist ever written" (3/5). The Independent and The Stage were the least keen, at two stars.
Almost every critic liked Rory Kinnear, and most of them picked out his scenes with Laurie Kynaston's Hayek, especially the two rivals on fire watch together in the Blitz. Where they split was on how much the play fits in. The Times's Dominic Maxwell said Graham "hasn't found the form to turn so much content into a drama with a compelling hook" (3/5), and Natalia Osipova's first acting role divided them too.
If you like a play that sends you home knowing more, the critics say you'll get plenty out of this one. If you want one tight story, some of them found it crowded. The full round-up is in What the Critics Say.
Gallery
The Standard of Living
Theatre Royal Haymarket
