In 2006 the theater became a common cultural space, comprising two scenes and the "green lobby".

The Youth Theatre was founded in 1979 by V.A. Malyshitsky, who was the leader of Russian studio movement as an experimental site organised to find new theatre forms. In 1983 it was headed by E.M. Padve who was a talented Leningrad director, Tovstonogov's pupil. Youth Theatre on Fontanka is the only theater in St. Petersburg with garden, opened on 18 January 1980 with performance of "One hundred brothers Bestuzhevykh" based on the play by Boris Goller. Today the theatre's repertoire amounts to 40 plays,, both classical and modern ones.