Description of the attraction
One of the most beloved theaters of Petersburgers is the Youth Theater on Fontanka, known for its performances not only in the city on the Neva, but also outside Russia.
The history of the theater dates back to the times when the place where it is located was called "outside the city", and the houses of General Rumyantsev and Postmaster Asch were considered the most comfortable here in 1738. The history of the postmaster Asch's house is directly related to the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences. Then the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences was laid out on the site of the garden and the house of the aforementioned postmaster. Later, the famous Izmailovsky garden or the Buff garden, as the native Petersburgers call it, was located there.
It all began with a native of Yaroslavl, Peter Tumpakov, who in 1901 rented land from the merchants Tarasovs. He was given permission to build a place called Izmailovsky Garden with various entertainment establishments. Tumpakov demolished all the former buildings of Izmailovsky Park and built the Buff Theater, in front of which there was a huge flower garden. The cost of theater tickets was very affordable, and music could be heard for free. Therefore, the place was very popular with Petersburgers. The pop stars of that time Vyaltseva, Monakhov, Charova, Moldavtsev performed here. In 1911 the owner of the garden changed, but the spirit of the theater remained the same.
Theatrical traditions of the Izmailovsky Garden were preserved until the 1940s. Then the building was rebuilt into a skating rink, which operated until the 1970s.
Since 1979, the Youth Theater began to give performances in the Izmailovsky Garden. His troupe included professional and amateur actors from the Studio "Studio", created by director V. A. Malyschitsky. The first performance was the staging of Goller's play “One Hundred Bestuzhev Brothers”. It became a real theatrical event. The audience was very impressed by the troupe's repertoire - plays by contemporary prose writers on the most pressing topics. That Youth Theater is associated with the legendary names of actors Yuri Ovsyanko, Vasily Frolov, Nina Usatova, Alexander Mirochnik, Vladimir Khalif, Oleg Popkov.
A bright stage in the life of the theater ended with the departure of its founder V. Malyschitsky. Then the theater director was Yefim Padve, who was G. Tovstonogov's favorite student. The theater has changed internally. The director's favorite playwright was Alexander Vampilov. The play based on "Duck Hunt" became the best production of the theater in the 80s. Padwe staged the rock opera "Cyrano de Bergerac", the cabaret performance "Music in the Garden". Over time, the leading actors and repertoire changed, but the theater still gathered a full hall. Successful tours abroad, long queues for tickets are all evidence of the extraordinary popularity of the Youth Theater. The play "Music sounded in the Garden" was performed more than five hundred times and was preserved in the repertoire after the death of Yefim Padve, who, experiencing a creative crisis, suddenly left his post in 1989 and died soon after.
According to Padve's spiritual will, the theater was headed by Semyon Spivak. He was already famous for his performances. Spivak brought his favorite actors here and glorified the theater by staging the plays "Tango", "Blow", "Dear Elena Sergeevna". His productions of the classics - "Bourgeois in the Nobility", "The Thunderstorm", "Threepenny Opera" surprised with their novelty and uniqueness. In the darkest and most tragic, he saw good and light.
The youth theater on the Fontanka is characterized by bright modernity and vitality. Here the acting brotherhood has always been held in high esteem. The actors of the theater are high professionals who charge the audience with amazing life-affirming energy.
Roman Viktyuk, Alexander Galibin, Vladimir Tumanov worked at the theater at different times as invited directors. The best performances of the theater were seen by the audience of Germany, Ukraine, Poland.
