Bryantsev Youth Theatre: St Petersburg's theatre for teenagers — what to see with kids 10+, how to pick a show and seats

A children's theatre appeared in St Petersburg before anywhere else in Russia: director Alexander Bryantsev opened the TYuZ in 1922, and since then it has treated children as real audiences. Today the Bryantsev Youth Theatre is a large building on Pionerskaya Square with an amphitheatre hall where teenagers sit without being made to. That is rare, and if you are travelling with a 10-to-16-year-old, it is worth a visit.

The 1962 building, one of the city's first purpose-built post-war theatres. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Bryantsev and the 1962 building

For its first forty years the theatre worked on Mokhovaya Street; in 1962 it moved into a building on Pionerskaya Square designed for it by Alexander Zhuk. According to the theatre, the key idea was an amphitheatre hall without tiers or balconies, so that every child sees the stage equally well — nothing like it existed in the city then. In front is a garden with a monument to Griboyedov; behind is Vitebsky railway station. It is a quiet corner of the centre that tourists rarely reach.

Repertoire by age

The theatre runs three strands. For younger children, fairy tales and classics rated 6+. For middle schoolers, productions of the school syllabus — Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky — staged so they do not feel like a literature lesson. For older teenagers, contemporary prose and plays rated 14+ and 16+, often tackling hard themes. The Small Stage hosts chamber pieces and experiments. Every title carries an age rating, and it is meant seriously.

The core of the programme is for ages 10 to 16. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Raduga festival

Every spring the theatre hosts Raduga, an international festival of productions for young audiences from different cities and countries — the best moment to see several shows in a week. Dates and programme are on the website.

The foyer of the main hall. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The hall and seats

The main hall is an amphitheatre of about 700 seats with no tiers. The sectors fan out; the central ones, rows five to twelve, give the best balance of view and distance. The outer sectors look at the stage from the side, which matters for shows with video projection. The Small Stage seats about a hundred and every seat is equal.

The amphitheatre hall: the stage is visible from every seat. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Planning a visit

Tickets are sold online and at the box office; book ahead for premieres and school holidays. Weekday matinees are often taken by school groups — families do better with evenings and weekends.

Pionerskaya Square in front of the theatre. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Getting there

Pushkinskaya or Zvenigorodskaya metro, exit to Zagorodny Prospekt, then five minutes past Vitebsky station. With children or after an evening show, a transfer booked in advance via RideClu saves the taxi queue at Vitebsky.

Vitebsky station is the landmark on the way. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Nearby and where to stay

Semyonovsky Square and the Technological Institute are ten minutes away, Five Corners and Rubinshteyna fifteen. For a family with a teenager, the area around Zagorodny works well: the TYuZ, the Railway Museum by Baltiysky station and the Yusupov Garden are all walkable. Two-bedroom apartments here can be booked on Tutkakdoma — a quiet district, cheaper than Nevsky.

The Railway Museum is a block away. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The garden with the Griboyedov monument in front of the theatre. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Not for you if you are bringing a five-year-old and expecting a matinee pantomime — the theatre is strongest for teenagers. For a child who "doesn't like theatre", it is the most likely place to change their mind.

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the theatre's website.

Cover photo: Фото: English: Andrew Krizhanovsky