Published on: 2026-10-01
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The walls of the mansion on Neglinnaya (house 29) have witnessed a lot: Fyodor Chaliapin sang here, Maxim Gorky hosted a banquet in honor of the premiere of “The Lower Depths,” and Pyotr Tchaikovsky, according to legend, held an intimate wedding ceremony—one of the halls is named after him in memory of this. Also here, in the Hermitage restaurant, Lucien Olivier once created the famous salad which, having undergone changes, became a Soviet and Russian New Year’s classic. Today, these walls are a stage Theatre on Trubnaya, whose new season promises bright premieres, bold decisions, and an honest conversation on deep philosophical topics. Its artistic director Dmitry Astrakhan talked about how productions are born, how directing work is constructed, and what to pay attention to when visiting the theater.
A house with a biography
The history of the building of the future Theater on Trubnaya began in 1816: back then, there was the tavern “Afonkin’s Inn” with baths and a hotel, and in the 1860s, first guild merchant Yakov Pegov, together with chef Lucien Olivier, rebuilt it into the restaurant “Hermitage.” The establishment’s name came about this way: Olivier paid tribute to the Parisian “Hermitage” — one of the most famous restaurants in the French capital at the time. Architect Dmitry Chichagov gave the building a special charm, and this refined authorial style can still be seen in the façade details.
The “Hermitage” restaurant quickly became the epicenter of Moscow’s social life. At its tables, millionaire merchants and aristocrats, writers and actors of the imperial theaters met. Ivan Turgenev, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Maxim Gorky would drop by here. Vladimir Gilyarovsky, the famous chronicler of Moscow life, mentioned the “Hermitage” several times in his essays: for him, it was a place where different worlds intersected — from titled nobility to newly wealthy industrialists. It was here that Anton Chekhov signed a contract with Alexey Suvorin for the publication of his collected works.
Turgenev and Gilyarovsky’s Favorite Spot: Exploring the Menu of the Legendary Restaurant “Hermitage”
The revolution brought changes to the fate of the house. In the 1920s, a canteen for the hungry was opened here, later the building was occupied by the Peasant House with a dormitory and the “Trud” cinema, and then until 1989 it housed the “Vysshaya Shkola” publishing house.
And only in 1989 did creative energy return to these walls — the theater moved in here. Thus, the historic building acquired a new mission: not to preserve the past as a museum exhibit, but to make it a meaningful backdrop for a conversation about the present. In 2022, Dmitry Astrakhan became the artistic director of the theater.
A story that continues in the theater
The past is embodied in today’s theatrical life — every detail of the interior preserves the memory of bygone times. We enter the small stage “Winter Garden” from Neglinnaya Street. It got its name in memory of the times of Lucien Olivier, who arranged a greenhouse with exotic palms and peacocks in this part of the restaurant complex. Right on the first floor are frescoes discovered by restorers. These are authentic 19th-century paintings that have miraculously survived to this day. Nearby stands a wrought-iron lantern — at first glance just a decorative element, but in fact, it can tell no less than an archive. It was made by a renowned master of the past — having such one was considered a privilege at that time. Even then it illuminated the entrance to the “Hermitage” restaurant — and today it still greets visitors.
Notably, another identical lantern can be seen in the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. There is a certain symbolism and connection of eras in this: the viewer goes to the play, and the path is illuminated by the same lantern under which Shalyapin once passed. Thus, history draws close to our days: contemporary authors’ works are shown on the theater’s small stage, and chamber concerts are held — the space seems created for a sincere, trusting conversation with the audience.
You can enter the main stage through the central entrance: it is called “Hermitage” — and this is again a tribute to the past. At the threshold, guests are greeted by an antique mirror, on the back of which the date of manufacture — 1863 — is preserved. According to legend, it was in this mirror that guests of the restaurant looked at themselves. Now it is part of the theater: any spectator can see their reflection in the mirror that remembers Tchaikovsky and Gorky.
On the walls of the first floor and throughout the theater — antique bas-reliefs with historical ornaments. Just a few steps from the entrance, on the same first floor, is the modern restaurant “Lucien Olivier.” It was here that the famous salad was once invented — and today they serve eight variations of it. Manager Yaroslav Shelkovov explains what is best to try at the establishment: “Consommé soup — as an aperitif, Olivier with crayfish necks — as the main dish. Wash it all down with sparkling wine — this way you will definitely be transported to Olivier’s times.” Before the performance or during the intermission, you can feel the connection through taste. Every month, new items appear on the menu inspired by the original cuisine of the “Hermitage.”
No matter how charming the restaurant is, it’s better to return to it during a break. Meanwhile, we continue towards the main stage: a pristine white marble staircase leads upstairs to the central hall of the former restaurant. The space has been restored: modern decor is carefully integrated into the historic interiors of the century before last. Here, the theater more often turns to classical productions, as if emphasizing that the past is an important part of life.
The theater is running “At the Pipe” — a vivid production in the format of a walk-through play. The audience moves from one hall to another, from one space to another, gradually getting acquainted with the history of the theater. In the final act, they are transported to the atmosphere of the Hermitage restaurant: a celebration with champagne, music, and dancing recreates the spirit of balls and receptions that were held here. This scene is especially loved by the audience because here you can be within arm’s reach of almost the entire troupe — honored and people’s artists. The most emotional moment of the play is the finale. “When the audience leaves the hall, the actors line up on the sides of the staircase and applaud them: the audience applauds the actors, and the actors applaud the audience,” shares Leonora Belousova, a representative of the press service of the Theater on Trubnaya. “People first freeze in confusion, then begin to smile. This moment is remembered for a long time.”
Theater today
Not only the atmosphere lingers in memory for a long time, but also the productions themselves — those created by the artistic director and director Dmitry Astrakhan. Under his leadership, the theater has opened up on an even larger scale: there has been an increase in genre diversity, classical works have been introduced that were previously absent — and audiences who previously passed by have come. Behind this lies a system of views built over years and the director’s unique life experience.
Dmitry Astrakhan graduated from a theatrical university, then went into film directing and made the films “You Are My Only One,” “Everything Will Be Fine,” “Crossroads,” “Yellow Dwarf.” Today he not only directs plays but also teaches a course at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimov, and produces films. He formulates his main task in work simply: “The viewer comes after work, with their problems. The theater must make them forget about everything. A person comes here blind — and the theater must seize them, stun them, and then engage them in conversation, awaken their feelings.”
Art must capture instantly and hold until the very last minute. And to hold attention, you need vivid material and an accurate method. That is precisely why Dmitry Astrakhan is categorically against modernizing classics for the sake of fleeting fashion: “You can rewrite a play, give the characters phones and modern clothes — some directors do that. But that’s superficial — the audience sees the device and doesn’t believe what’s happening on stage. The real solution is when ‘The Petty Bourgeois’ sound contemporary with costumes and sets of that era, following its traditions, while also addressing the questions that concern today’s audience. Finding this correspondence and conveying it on stage is my main task.”
Dmitry Astrakhan’s method is not to break the author, but to listen so attentively that today’s life suddenly emerges through the text: family conflicts, generational misunderstandings, the tragic clash of loving people on different ideological poles, and, of course, love, eternal and all-encompassing. The theme of love is generally key in Dmitry Khananovich’s productions. But any philosophical theme on stage can only be revealed through a certain attitude toward the hero. The director derives the following formula for himself: “We are not prosecutors — we are attorneys. We do not accuse the heroes — we defend them and try to understand them.”
This approach is the key to understanding his entire theater. If you defend the hero, then the main subject of your search is what drives a person. And what drives him is love — not as a theme, but as a key timeless force of humanity: “Love is a disease, as Plato said. When a person is afflicted by it — everything else goes to hell: calculations, rules, common sense. For love, a person commits madness. That is why it is beautiful, terrible, and dangerous.”
Therefore, the director rejects the immediate agenda as material for the stage: ‘‘Current topics have journalism and news. We must strive for eternal values: dignity, decency, love. A person should leave the hall and become better.’’
For this to work, an audience ready to watch and listen is needed. Dmitry Astrakhan’s experience shows that an audience in the hall is capable of perceiving large-scale productions and long performances. People follow expansive stories, unhurried dialogues, and extended scenes with interest if everything is done skillfully. Where there is something to look at and listen to carefully, the hall falls silent. Proof of this are the performances “Aunt Charlie” and “Madly in Love”: at the finale, the audience does not let the actors leave the stage and applauds standing. The explanation is simple: “All genres are good except boring ones,” quotes the artistic director Voltaire. This idea is followed in the theater in every production.
What to watch at the Theater on Trubnaya: recommended by the artistic director
The repertoire of the Theatre on Trubnaya is diverse: it intertwines many themes and plots — comedies and tragicomedies prevail, but there are various works. The poster features about 20 performances, and three premieres set the tone for the season.
A special place in the repertoire is taken by “I, only I, and again I” — this is the first play that Dmitry Astrakhan directed on this stage as the artistic director of the theater. It is based on the French comedy by Florian Zeller about egoism, fetishes, and moral superiority, for which a person is ready to destroy everyone around them. The director recalls: “Before I came to the Theater on Trubnaya, the repertoire consisted of contemporary plays: Russian and Soviet texts were staged. But Western satire is a different genre of dramaturgy. And the play turned out well. The comedic situation is sharp — the audience responds well to it.” The viewer sees a familiar scene on the stage: close people, each absolutely certain of their own righteousness, at one moment ready to destroy everything just to remain honest with themselves. If you want to understand how today’s Theater on Trubnaya began — start with this play.
When choosing other performances, Dmitry Astrakhan advises starting from personal preferences, as there are no universal recommendations. “If you need laughter and a light impression — this is “Aunt Charlie” and “Crazy in Love”: theater of celebration in its purest form. If the amorous, melodramatic poignancy — “The Lady of the Camellias”, if philosophical depth, drama — “The Salem Witches” If you want a feeling of retro, Soviet times, the air of the past — “Don’t like it, well, so be it”, “Five Evenings”, it is nostalgia. Philosophical reflections — at “Don Juan”“.
The last three premieres deserve special attention. “Kasatka” Based on the work of Aleksey Tolstoy — a story about happiness that requires the courage to be oneself. Roman Samgin calls it a story about hope, the search for light, and inner peace. “Yellow dwarf” based on the play by Oleg Danilov — a family tragicomedy about what parents are willing to do for their children. In 2001, Dmitry Astrakhan made a film based on it starring Alexander Abdulov and Elena Proklova, and now he has returned to this play to place entirely different emphases in it. The lead roles are played by Ivan Mamonov and Elena Panova. The play has a precise directorial move, which Astrakhan speaks about separately: “I was interested in highlighting an acute satirical theme through simple, conventional movements. There are no dances in the play, but a counterpoint works: the characters speak significantly, while moving to the ‘Dance of the Little Ducks.’ This deliberate simplicity combined with serious themes creates a paradoxical effect.” The third premiere — “Deceit and Love” Friedrich Schiller’s. A bourgeois tragedy where the main roles are given to students and recent graduates, and the soundtrack is Rammstein. The set extends right into the audience, blurring the boundary between the stage and the spectators.
When asked about his landmark theatrical work, Dmitry Astrakhan responds: “Each performance has its own attraction and its own vibrant story. The more variety, the more interesting it is to work.”
And diversity itself is a rejection of boredom, repetition, and ready-made formulas. It is a constant search in which the theater never stops for a single day. If you have not yet discovered the Theatre on Trubnaya, this poster is a good reason to start getting acquainted. If you already visit here, the season premieres will give you a new reason to return, and the service will help you choose a day and book tickets. “Mosbilet”.
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