Douglas is a respected cultural leader. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive / Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.

 

In this role, he has led the organisation through a period of renewal, embedding inclusivity, community engagement, and creative risk at the heart of its programme.

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He chairs We Are Ipswich, the self-governing collective of arts and heritage organisations in the town, driving collaboration and shared ambition across the sector. He sits on the Norfolk and Suffolk Culture Board, on Ipswich's Business Improvement District Board and is a trustee of Suffolk Pride.

 

Douglas has also led the formation and played a significant role in securing the first successful bid for a new East Anglian Touring Consortium, strengthening regional touring infrastructure and artist mobility. In addition, he conceived, wrote, and secured a Creative People and Places award for Ipswich — a major long-term investment in community-led culture that will transform participation in the town.

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Previously, Douglas was Artistic Director of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, where he revitalised the organisation and led it to win The Stage’s London Theatre of the Year Award (2020).

 

He also founded and ran the national touring company Transport, and served as an Associate Director at Complicité, one of the UK’s most internationally renowned theatre companies.

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Douglas was listed in The Stage100 list of the most influential people in theatre (2020) and in the East Anglian Daily Times Suffolk 100 (2022), recognising his impact on regional theatre and cultural leadership.

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Under Douglas’s leadership, the organisations he has led have been recognised nationally and regionally:

• The Stage’s London Theatre of the Year Award (2020) for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

• UK Theatre Award nomination for Most Welcoming Theatre (2019) for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

• UK Theatre Clothworkers’ Award for the Essex on Stage talent development programme at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch

• East Anglian Daily Times Suffolk Business of the Year Award (2024) for New Wolsey Theatre

• UK Theatre Award nomination for Excellence in Inclusivity (2024) for New Wolsey Theatre

• UK Theatre Award shortlist for Most Welcoming Theatre (2022) for New Wolsey Theatre