[8] He attended Bristol University studying English and Drama, where he set up his own theatre company with fellow student Chris Grady, presenting Shakespeare and related classics.
[10] Doran left the Bristol Old Vic School early having been invited to direct A Midsummer Night's Dream at Jamestown Community College in upstate New York.
In 1995 he directed his partner Antony Sher in the lead role of Titus Andronicus at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
He returned to the RSC in 1996, becoming an Associate Director, and directing Jane Lapotaire, Ian Hogg and Paul Jesson in All is True (or Henry VIII), his first Shakespeare for the company.
Doran took compassionate leave from his role at the RSC in September 2021 to care for his husband, Antony Sher, who was terminally ill. His deputy, Erica Whyman, became acting artistic director.