Avraham Oz

Avraham Oz is an Israeli theatre scholar, director and translator, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Haifa.

born 1944Hebrew translations of ShakespeareFounding Haifa's theatre departmentResearch on political theatre

Born: 23 May 1944, Tel Aviv
Occupation: theatre director, translator, literary theorist
Education: University of Bristol

Avraham Oz was born in 1944 in Tel Aviv

Avraham Oz was born in Tel Aviv on May 23, 1944, the only child of Itzhak Hoz, a bus driver, and Malka Lifshitz. His mother grew up in Alexandria, and he learned French from her.

He earned a BA in 1967 and an MA in 1970 from Tel Aviv University. He received a PhD in English literature from the University of Bristol in 1980.

Oz taught at Tel Aviv University, where he headed the theatre department from 1982. In 1994 he founded the theatre department at the University of Haifa and was its first chairman. He also worked at the Cameri Theatre and the Haifa Theatre, and helped found the Academy of Performing Arts in Tel Aviv in 2010.

He translated many plays into Hebrew, including works by Shakespeare, Brecht and Pinter, and edits the Hebrew edition of Shakespeare's works. He founded the journals Assaph and Mofa and worked as a theatre critic. He also directs and writes plays, including Glorious Mountain in 2021 and Pipes in 2023.

He lives in Tel Aviv and is married to theatre designer Tal Itzhaki.