[3] Khan began his studies in maths at the University of Cambridge, where he became involved in theatre, and physics at Imperial College London.
[2] His first show was a university production of Twelfth Night in which he played the priest, so he "spent a lot of time in a rehearsal room listening and observing other people".
[6] Khan cites music and the sound and rhythm of words as key influences in his work with Shakespeare and other playwrights.
[8] Into the Woods (2004) at Birmingham Hippodrome, The Baby and Fly Pie (2005) for Royal Exchange, Manchester that was "conceived for young audiences".
[10] In 2007, he directed Tiger at the Gates, the English translation of The Trojan War Will Not Take Place for National Studio, Days of Hope for Birmingham's Midlands Arts Centre.
He rose to prominence when in 2008 he directed two plays by Harold Pinter - A Slight Ache & Landscape - for the Royal National Theatre with Simon Russell Beale and Claire Higgins.
[18] In 2017, his Antony and Cleopatra was described "as upstanding as Hopkins's Roman columns" and starred Josette Simon in the lead role.
He was an associate to Graham Vick for Otello for Birmingham Opera Company in 2009, and the production was the first to star a Black singer in the title role in the United Kingdom.