Review: THE STANDARD OF LIVING, Starring Rory Kinnear

James Graham's latest play, The Standard of Living opens with a smartly dressed, well spoken man trying (and failing) to address an audience about his economic theory. It's a wry wink to the fact that the subject matter may not be everyone's specialist subject. But this is Graham, a master of making the dryest subject accessible and the flattest personality into a fascinating and human entity.

The father of macroeconomics is not an obvious choice for a diverting and informative subject matter, but John Maynard Keynes is certainly not a dry subject. He argued that government intervention was vital to stabilise the economy in the wake of the Great Depression and helped establish both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

What some might not know is that Keynes was also passionate about the benefit of the arts for the public good. A member of the bohemian Bloomsbury Group, he built the Arts Theatre in Cambridge and was the founding chairman of the Arts Council. He was also openly gay, jotting down his male conquests in a notebook until he unexpectedly married Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova. 

Graham tackles this rich subject matter, including the potentially dry economic theories, with a lightness of touch but never dumbing down. As ever, his writing is incredibly prescient. We are still living with the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis that successive governments have failed to address. Do we spend or save ourselves out of a fiscal black hole? The vital aspect of art and culture in everyday life is also ever-present, although there is no allusion to the state of the Arts Council today.

Yet despite Graham's adept writing, there is too much ground to cover in the space of the play; Keynes and the Bloombury Group; Keynes as the economist and his rivalry with Austrian economist Fredrich Hayek; Keynes as an art and culture lover. All fascinating individually, but impossible to really delve into sufficiently in the time given.

Rory Kinnear is never less than utterly engaging as Keynes, operating with ease and charm, but also intense frustration that he won't be listened to. "What is a good life?" he asks repeatedly and we understand his quest for art and culture to nourish people's lives, even if we do not agree with his economics.

Natalia Osipova makes a solid and convincing acting debut as his wife, Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova, often using movement to convey more than her words. A gentle touch to Kinnear's breast or the laying of her head on his shoulder are thoughtful, considered motions, along with her expressive dancing.

Laurie Kynaston is excellent as rival Hayek, showing huge admiration for Keynes, but also unafraid to contradict him totally. The dialogue between Kynaston and Kinnear is sparkling, including a scene based on a real-life event where they both patrolled the roof of King's College Cambridge on fire marshall duty during the Second World War. More of their fascinating interactions would have been very welcome.

Keynes bankrolled the Bloomsbury Group, who come across as louche, ungrateful, and generally overly convinced of their own self-importance. The group found that Keynes's involvement with the treasury and the war was at odds with their ethos and never let him forget it. Thomas Flynn (making an assured West End debut) is the most likeable as artist Duncan Grant. Pip Carter has great fun as the irascible writer Lytton Strachey and Naomi Frederick cuts a waspish figure as an aloof Virginia Woolf.

Nicholas Hytner's direction is measured, bringing order to what is often a flurry of actors on stage. There is a lovely fluidity and polish to the look of the production, in no small part down to Bob Crowley's effective set of sliding panels which bring Luke Halls's projections of the contemporary art and archive war photography to life.

James Cousins's movement direction is wonderful, using lyrical snippets of ballets such as Firebird and Les Sylphides, as well as an inspired scene where Keynes and Hayek fight out their respective economic theories as they dance a tango. "Tighten your belt," exclaims Hayek. "Buy a new belt," Keynes counters. It's very cleverly done and highly effective; a literal and figurative dance around the issues.

Ironically, given the fear that so many will hold about a play about an economist, more structure and focus on the economic tussles within the play would only have enhanced it. But even if this is not a James Graham classic, there is much to enjoy here and not a moment to be bored.

The Standard of Living runs at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 12 December

Reader Reviews

To post a comment, you must register and login.