Natalia Osipova, a principal at the Royal Ballet, initially found the prospect of her debut acting role daunting. Describing her first day of rehearsals, she admitted to feeling completely lost, overwhelmed, and stressed, noting that she even contemplated leaving. Despite these early doubts, she pushed through, encouraged by her former colleague Edward Watson, who urged her to seize the opportunity.
In James Graham’s new play, The Standard of Living, Osipova portrays Lydia Lopokova, a historical Russian ballerina who famously married the British economist John Maynard Keynes in 1925. Osipova notes that acting is central to her artistic evolution, acknowledging that while her classical technique might not be perfect, her deep connection to storytelling drives her performance. She finds working with dialogue in her second language to be a transformative, albeit challenging, experience, often staying up until midnight with her husband, dancer Jason Kittelberger, to rehearse her lines.
The production, directed by Nicholas Hytner and featuring a cast led by Rory Kinnear, demanded a high level of vulnerability. Osipova recalls feeling intimidated by the intellectual circles surrounding Keynes, which mirrored her character’s own experiences. She notes the irony of being cast as a character often dismissed as a “frivolous foghorn of a chorus girl,” a label she finds personally painful because it devalues the unique intelligence of dancers.
Lopokova’s own history informs the performance; she was a talented, ambitious woman who moved from the Mariinsky to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and never returned to Russia after 1936. Osipova feels a strong kinship with her, particularly regarding their shared Russian identity and artistic drive. Although Osipova maintains a deep longing for her homeland, she notes that her current life and family ties reside in the United States, making a permanent return unlikely despite her desire to visit.
As she approaches her 40th birthday, Osipova is intentionally shifting away from the “bravo repertoire” that defined her earlier career, such as Don Quixote and Manon. She expresses a need for constant creative renewal, stating that she feels as though she is dying if she is not learning something new. This desire for growth has led her to embrace contemporary dance, bespoke commissions, and now, the rigorous demands of the stage.
Her preparation for the role has also drawn on her past experiences, including her intense work on Woolf Works earlier this year. Recalling her time in the wings listening to Gillian Anderson perform Virginia Woolf’s suicide note, she describes the emotional impact as profound and transformative. For Osipova, the stage now offers a vital new way to express stories that go beyond the limitations of pure dance, proving that her transition to theater is a necessary step in her artistic journey. The report also notes that joining a classy cast led by Rory Kinnear, she felt like Lydia among Keynes’s sneery Bloomsbury friends. “I left rehearsal and cried,” she says, “because I feel, ‘Oh my god, I’, entering Nicholas Hytner’s rehearsal room. The report also notes that dancer Jason Kittelberger, to run through lines at midnight. “Dance is my world,” she says. “I’ve danced since 17, I’m 40 now, she drafted in her husband. The report also notes that while a frequent stage direction for Lydia is “she stomps”, his play is attentive to Lydia’s physicality: dance solos mark the scene changes. The report also notes that i want to take a taxi and run away. The report also notes that and Osipova is still here, it’s the second week of rehearsals when we meet. The report also notes that a delicate silver necklace shines beneath frank brown eyes.
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