Film and televisionיוסף רייכלגאוז

Joseph Raihelgauz

Joseph Raihelgauz is a Soviet, Russian and Israeli theater director and teacher who founded the Moscow theater School of Modern Drama.

born 1947Founding the School of Modern DramaTeaching directing at GITISFounding the Mira Theater in Netanya

Born: 12 June 1947, Odesa
Occupation: dramaturge, theatre director, drama teacher, actor

Joseph Raihelgauz was born in 1947 in Odesa

Raihelgauz was born in 1947 in Odesa to a Jewish family. His father was a decorated World War II veteran. As a young man he worked in several technical jobs.

He studied journalism at Leningrad University and directed a student theater there. He then moved to Moscow and studied directing at GITIS under Maria Knebel and Andrei Popov.

In the early 1970s he began directing at the Sovremennik theater in Moscow. He later worked at other Soviet theaters and abroad, including at Habima in Israel. In 1988 he started the School of Modern Drama, which opened in 1989 and which he led until 2022.

He has taught at GITIS since 1976 and became a professor in 2004. He was named People's Artist of Russia in 1999.

In 2022 Moscow officials ended his term as artistic director, and reports linked the decision partly to his criticism of the government and of the war in Ukraine. He moved to Netanya, where he teaches acting. In 2024 he signed an agreement with the city to found the Mira Theater.