James Graham's new play 'The Standard of Living' explores John Maynard Keynes's life

Playwright James Graham, known for works on Rupert Murdoch and Gareth Southgate, has written 'The Standard of Living,' a play about economist John Maynard Keynes. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, it opens at the Haymarket in September 2026. Rory Kinnear stars as Keynes, covering his life from 1917 to 1946, including his role as a founding father of macroeconomics, his membership in the Bloomsbury Group, and his relationships with Virginia Woolf and painter Duncan Grant. The play also explores Keynes's marriage to ballerina Lydia Lopokova, played by Natalia Osipova, and his intellectual rivalry with Friedrich Hayek. Graham and Hytner believe Keynes's radical ideas remain relevant today.