What have I
earned?
A play based on stories from Sergei Dovlatov’s «The Suitcase» — in the only genuine, lived-in writer’s flat in Russia, communal apartment 34 on Rubinstein Street. The floorboards creak where they creaked in his day. The stage is three rooms and three corridors — more than half of the communal flat, the neighbours’ rooms included. Three things from the suitcase — a shirt, a hat, gloves. Three fates.
Full prepayment on the website — via SBP or Yandex Split, receipt by email · cancel 24 hours ahead for a full refund
«You sit half a metre from the actor, real neighbours live behind the wall, and at some point you stop understanding whether this is still a play or simply somebody’s evening on Rubinstein Street».
Theatre in Dovlatov’s flat — the real one, still lived in
This is not a stage and not an auditorium. It is a room in a working communal flat at 23 Rubinstein Street. Twenty-three people are so close that the actor passes within arm’s reach, and there is nowhere to look away — you have to watch.
The things do the acting. Each one drags a story behind it: how it was tracked down, who it was borrowed from, what was paid for it. The stories are funny right up to the second they turn sad — Dovlatov knew how to make that turn, and here it is not softened. You will not find out «how it all ends». You will find out what it is like when everything you have earned fits into one suitcase. Venues like this can be counted on one hand: we have put together an honest guide to St Petersburg’s unusual theatres.
What to expect
Why go
«Nine performances a year and twenty-three chairs. Most people hear about this play once the tickets are gone».
The shirt — the first of the three things 
Trumpet, typewriter and a shadow on the map 
House concert 
Laughter in the front row 
Mid-scene 
The tiled stove where the action takes place
What the evening is made of
The plot is the packing. Young people are leaving for another country, and the whole past fits into one suitcase. In Dovlatov’s «The Suitcase» there are eight things — in the play, three: the shirt, the hat, the gloves. Three things — three fates. As they pack, the stories come back — funny, bitter, absurd — and one flows into the next, like an evening nobody wants to bring to an end.
The music in the play is live. Accordion, trumpet and guitar — vintage, played by the actors themselves, a metre from the audience: there is no backing track, and every evening sounds slightly different.
Between the scenes — the communal corridor, the kitchen where everything was talked over, and the shared lavatory you cannot walk past. The route of the play follows the route of an ordinary morning in this flat — only instead of the tenants, it is someone else’s life, packed in a suitcase, that walks it. And if you would rather live the flat than watch it — the same rooms host the immersive tour-performance «No goodbyes — call me!».
«At the bottom — Karl Marx. On the lid — Brodsky. And between them — a lost, priceless, one and only life».
Who staged it and who performs
Three graduates of Yuri Krasovsky’s studio at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Egor Averin — Maly Drama Theatre, Theatre of Europe; Maxim Kleimenov — Bolshoi Drama Theatre; Mark Krasilnikov — V. F. Komissarzhevskaya Theatre. Together they perform in the street project «Poetry Around the Corner», and they take «What have I earned?» beyond the flat too: the play has been performed in Pushkinskiye Gory, where Dovlatov worked as a tour guide, and at city festivals. Bringing these stages together for one evening is usually a festival’s job; here it is simply the cast. The play was staged by Aneli Filippova — a director from the same studio.
You are met by the flat’s keepers: the museum is run by Ivan Eikhenbaum and partners, for whom this communal flat is not a set but a place they look after every day.
Twenty-three seats is not about economy, it is about distance. Dovlatov does not carry in a bigger hall: his intonation works only when the actor is half a step from you and someone really does live behind the wall.
- Ticket
- 2495 ₽
- When
- 9 performances a year
- Meeting point
- at the Dovlatov monument — 23 Rubinstein Street; we go up to the flat all together at the start
- Duration
- about an hour
- Audience
- 23 guests — every row is the front row
- Age
- adults and teenagers
- What is included
- the play, followed by about 20 minutes through apartment 34: three rooms and three corridors, the neighbours welcome the guests
- Payment
- full prepayment on the website — via SBP or in instalments with Yandex Split; receipt by email
- Refund
- cancel 24 hours ahead of the start for a full refund
- Directions
- Get directions →
- Booking
- Choose a date →
Frequently asked questions
Who is this evening for?
Will I have to take part?
Is the staircase steep?
How do I give a visit as a gift?
What if you are running late?
Where do we meet? Can we go up to the flat early?
Can I take photographs?
Is it suitable for children?
Can I book a private performance?
Is there a toilet for guests?
How do I pay for the ticket?
What the audience says
«A stunning production in the extraordinarily beautiful, authentic interior of Dovlatov’s room. The moment you open the door you are immersed in a warm, cosy space where the eye wants to catch every smallest detail, to look over the ‘earned’ things, the vintage, the antiques and the gorgeous old wallpaper. And if you are inclined to carry a sketchbook, it will certainly come in handy here: from the first steps you want to draw the old objects and capture all the patterns on paper. That is as far as the atmosphere goes: you want to immerse yourself in it, to feel it, to stay in it.
The play is an absorbing production that does not let you take your eyes off the actors; the liveliness, naturalness and simplicity are charming, the musical accompaniment envelops you, and the acting will leave no one indifferent.
Three things — three fates. Interesting and sensual stories. Nerve, freedom, love — that is what runs through the play.
Come to enjoy the warm atmosphere and lose yourself for a while within the walls of an old communal flat in very good company».
«We came for impressions of our favourite writer’s life, but got much more. Simply stunning — both the flat itself and how it is done».
«For a living, honest, relevant Dovlatov — come here. You can see that for each of the actors the story is personal; realising that all of this is still about us today is both pleasant and bitter. Besides, here theatre steps out of the black box — step out of your own boxes too, and open your hearts to the fine experience of young creativity and eternal themes!»
«The actors managed to convey a man’s inner turmoil and help us come into contact with his hard choice. Young and talented lads: they act, and you can see they enjoy it».
Audience reviews
We saw the play "What Have I Gained?". Full of atmosphere, wildly talented actors, and they spoke with the audience. You do not even notice the moment you are drawn into the play yourself. Bravo!
After the performance our guide Maria told us about the flat and the people who lived in it.
«We were at the museum on 27.08.2026 for the play “What have I earned”. It is interesting to watch a play in a space like this, you become part of the exhibition. The actors are young, charming lads; by the middle of the play they had hit their stride so that it was impossible to look away. After the play there was a short tour of the rooms. Interesting. It made us want to come again».
«A stunning production in the extraordinarily beautiful, authentic interior of Dovlatov’s room. The moment you open the door you are immersed in a warm, cosy space where the eye wants to catch every smallest detail, to look over the ‘earned’ things, the vintage, the antiques and the gorgeous old wallpaper. And if you are inclined to carry a sketchbook, it will certainly come in handy here: from the first steps you want to draw the old objects and capture all the patterns on paper. That is as far as the atmosphere goes: you want to immerse yourself in it, to feel it, to stay in it.
The play is an absorbing production that does not let you take your eyes off the actors; the liveliness, naturalness and simplicity are charming, the musical accompaniment envelops you, and the acting will leave no one indifferent.
Three things — three fates. Interesting and sensual stories. Nerve, freedom, love — that is what runs through the play.
Come to enjoy the warm atmosphere and lose yourself for a while within the walls of an old communal flat in very good company».
«I love plays that are performed outside a stage space, when the venue is fully justified. Here you could not think of anything better: Sergei Dovlatov’s memorial flat, which he leaves as he departs for America — and the characters of the play, who are leaving for somewhere, packing their things, spending one last friendly evening together. There are favourite quotations from Dovlatov’s texts here, and heart-rending songs with live musical accompaniment. And an inimitable atmosphere of empathy too: the actors literally look you in the eye. The small scale creates an intimate atmosphere — as if you had dropped in on friends and they were telling you their life story».
«We came for impressions of our favourite writer’s life, but got much more. Simply stunning — both the flat itself and how it is done».
«For a living, honest, relevant Dovlatov — come here. You can see that for each of the actors the story is personal; realising that all of this is still about us today is both pleasant and bitter. Besides, here theatre steps out of the black box — step out of your own boxes too, and open your hearts to the fine experience of young creativity and eternal themes!»
«I liked the play very much, the actors are simply BRILLIANT! They acted so well! Even though the space and the air temperature were not easy.
I have seen three plays based on Dovlatov: at the Komedianty Theatre, at the Lensovet Theatre based on the works Dovlatov wrote already in America, and yours. In Levshinov’s production Dovlatov was more of a fighter against Soviet power, a dissident; in the Lensovet play I saw Dovlatov’s protest against lies and human stupidity already within the émigré community, which they had brought with them from the Soviet Union.
Your play found a greater response in my soul and corresponded more closely to my idea of Dovlatov’s personality. I do not know what you and your actors thought about him and his work while working on the play. But I saw the restless ‘Russian soul’ (despite his ethnic origin) of a talented writer, protesting against lies, stupidity and absurdity in human society. Unfortunately he found a remedy for the pain of being unable to fight it in alcohol. And from then on he fought that affliction and his own weaknesses, which is what he wrote about. His whole life was also a protest against consumerism in Soviet society, which had taken very ugly forms at the time. That too came through in your play.
And emigration did not save him: although much was published, he was read there only in a narrow circle. In the Soviet Union he was not published; in America there was no one to read what was published. That is why he died at 49.
Thank you for the play and for agreeing to give an interview! And see you on Saturday».
«The actors managed to convey a man’s inner turmoil and help us come into contact with his hard choice. Young and talented lads: they act, and you can see they enjoy it».
«Thank you for the original format of the play! The running time — we did not want to leave. We really wanted to look at everything without hurrying».
«Thank you all for your talent, sensitivity and such a heartfelt approach to and reading of Dovlatov’s prose! Watching and listening to you today, I remembered Sergei Donatovich and thought of my friends and acquaintances in emigration. And I thank the lovely young woman, a museum staff member as I understood, for her hospitality and her sincere interest in and love for the history of this flat and its inhabitants!»
Theatre in this flat — in the city press
A stage in a lived-in communal flat is a rarity, and one that gets written about. Kommersant shot a photo report at an immersive performance in the flat during the «D Day» festival, Sobaka.ru covered the launch of tour-performances in the communal flat, and the city’s TV channels aired stories from these rooms. «What have I earned?» is played on that same stage — in the writer’s room.
- St Petersburg TV«The Petersburg Text»: an extended report on the museum · 12.09.2026
- Kommersanta play in the flat — a photo report
- Sobaka.ruplays are launched in the communal flat
- Peterburgsky Dnevnika tour-performance in the communal flat
- St Petersburg TVtime travel at the museum
- NTVthe secrets of the writer’s neighbours
Why book direct
Also in this flat
The play as a private performance
A corporate event, a private evening for your own circle, a gathering of friends. The museum closes for your group, and «What have I earned?» is played for you alone.
Up to 23 guests. The date and time are yours
The same actors, the same writer’s room, the same neighbours behind the wall — and not a single stranger in the audience. Almost any day and hour by arrangement: a morning before opening, an evening after closing. The price is for the whole room, not per guest: details on the page for companies. We reply the same day.
Nine evenings a year. Twenty-three seats. The door opens by booking.
The play is performed in apartment 34 at 23 Rubinstein Street — in the very centre of St Petersburg
Full prepayment on the website — via SBP or Yandex Split, receipt by email · cancel 24 hours ahead for a full refund