Douglas is an accomplished theatre-maker and cultural leader. He studied Drama & Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham, received a bursary on the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, and was invited to join the Royal National Theatre Studio Young Directors' Programme.

​

Growing up on a council estate in a family that seldom attended the theatre greatly influenced his work and the organisations he chooses to lead. Encouraged by passionate drama teachers during his state education, he pursued higher education and a career in theatre. Since then, he has directed a wide range of productions, including musicals, opera, large-scale community shows, contemporary drama, classics, and original pieces. His productions are known for being accessible and moving, often highlighting voices from the fringes of society. His work demonstrates his commitment to creating theatre that is inclusive, thought-provoking, and emotionally engaging.

​

Douglas's work has been showcased across the UK and internationally, at venues such as Barbican London, Hackney Empire, Trafalgar Studios, Theatre503, New Diorama, Vault Festival, Unicorn Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, Watermill Theatre, Dundee Rep., Derby Theatre, Hull Truck Theatre, New Wolsey Theatre, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Northern Stage, Yvonne Arnaud, Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.

​

Currently, Douglas is the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. He was previously the Artistic Director of the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, founded and ran the national touring company Transport, and served as an Associate Director at Complicité.

​

Douglas has received several awards, including a National Theatre Playwright Foundation Award for his play "Elegy" and the London Theatre of the Year Stage Award for Queen's Theatre Hornchurch in 2020. His recent production of "Dick Whittington and His Cat" was nominated for Best Pantomime (under 500 seats) at the UK Pantomime Awards 2024. His musical "Love Letters," which he wrote and directed, was nominated for Best New Musical at the London Off West End Awards. "1001 Nights," his first production for young people, was nominated for Best Production for Young People at the London Off West End Awards. The New Wolsey Theatre recently won the East Anglian Daily Times Suffolk Business of the Year Award. 

​

Selected productions directed by Douglas include "Footloose" (New Wolsey Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre), "Romeo & Juliet" (New Wolsey Theatre and Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds), "Brief Encounter" (New Wolsey Theatre, Wiltshire Creative, and Yvonne Arnaud), "As You Like It" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and National Theatre), "Dardanus" (English Touring Opera), "Abigail's Party" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Salisbury Playhouse, Derby Theatre, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg), "Macbeth" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and Derby Theatre), "The Crucible" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, and Selladoor), "Made in Dagenham" and "Rope" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and New Wolsey Theatre), "Much Ado About Nothing," "In Basildon," "Love Letters," "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole The Musical," "Misfits," "The Hired Man" (Queen's Theatre Hornchurch), "Europe" (Barbican/Dundee Rep.), "DNA," "Private Lives" (New Wolsey Theatre), "State Red" (Hampstead Theatre), "The Summer Book" (Unicorn Theatre), "Jonny Woo's East London Lecture" (Shoreditch Town Hall), "The Deep Blue Sea," "All My Sons," "Of Mice and Men" (Watermill Theatre), "Touched" (Trafalgar Studios), "Elegy" (Transport/Theatre503), "1001 Nights" (Transport/Unicorn Theatre), "As You Like It" (Transport/Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg), "Invisible" (Transport & New Wolsey Theatre), "Copenhagen," "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Taming of the Shrew," "Fen" (Salisbury Playhouse), "King Lear" (Creation), "Closer," and "Design for Living" (Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg).

​

As an associate director, his work includes "A Disappearing Number," "Endgame" (Complicité), "Measure for Measure" (Complicité/National Theatre), "Julius Caesar" (directed by Deborah Warner - Barbican), "Fidelio" (directed by Deborah Warner - Glyndebourne), and "Testosterone" (Rhum and Clay).

​

As a writer and deviser, Douglas's works include "1001 Nights" (Offie nomination for Best Production for Young People), "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (Unicorn Theatre), "The Edge," "Elegy" (Transport Theatre), with "Elegy" receiving productions in Spain, Mexico, and Australia and translated into Spanish. Other works include "Christmas Allsorts," "Sharon 'n' Barry do 'Romeo & Juliet'," "Sparky the Elf," "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," and "Love Letters" (Offie nomination for Best New Musical - Queen's Theatre Hornchurch).

​

Douglas has directed and taught at institutions such as Complicité, LAMDA, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Mountview, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, University of North London, University of Hyderabad, and Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.

​

His dramaturgy work includes projects at Soho Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, National Theatre Studio, Salisbury Playhouse, Transport, and Complicité, working with writers like Tena Štivičić, Vikki Stone, Atiha Sen Gupta, Sadie Hasler, Vickie Donoghue, Kenny Emson, Clem Garritty, Anne Odeke, Rhum & Clay, Jonny Woo, Guleraana Mir, and Zoe Lewis.

Before all this, Douglas was an assistant director at London Bubble and the English Shakespeare Company, a script reader for Soho Theatre, an usher at the Royal Court Theatre, a box office assistant at the Royal Albert Hall, a marketing assistant at the National Theatre, and an administrative assistant, then administrator, at Complicité.