Featherstone was born in Redhill, Surrey but moved to Scotland at 6 weeks old, where she lived in Clackmannanshire until the age of 7, when her father's work took her around the world.
[3] After her initial degree, Featherstone also did an MA in Directing at the university, in association with Manchester's Contact Theatre.
[5] Featherstone's first work in professional theatre followed, as an assistant director at the Royal Court in 1990 on Martin Crimp's No One Sees the Video.
She was also involved in the development of the pathologist drama Silent Witness, first broadcast in 1996, for which she was credited as script editor for the first two episodes.
[13] Featherstone was artistic director of Paines Plough, a theatre company based in the UK that specialises in new plays and touring, from 1997 to 2004.
[15] World premieres of Anna Weiss, a study of false memory syndrome by Mike Cullen, Crave, written by Kane on love and loss, Sleeping Around, a 1990s update of La Ronde, and The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union by David Greig, helped build Paines Plough's reputation.
"We need somebody who has wide experience of theatre production, development and nurturing new writing as well as good administrative and financial skills.
"[26] The person specification for the job identified an artistic director who, amongst other things, was "a visionary, with.... the ability to bring together diverse talents to create something very special".
"[4] Findlay announced Featherstone's appointment on 29 July 2004 at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
"We were looking for someone who was the best person to take Scottish theatre forward – Romanian, English, we weren't concerned," Findlay said.
"[29] She added: "I am honoured to be charged with the historic responsibility of developing and achieving the founding vision for the National Theatre of Scotland.
[16] Featherstone took up her post at the NTS – then housed in an empty temporary office in Hope Street, Glasgow[4][30] on 1 November 2004.
[9][28] She later recalled: "There was a 'zero' moment – walking into my office with my mobile phone and a Muji notebook, no furniture and a copy of The Herald.
This included John Tiffany, who had worked with her at Paines Plough and prior to that was Literary Director of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, as associate director of New Work;[9][31][32][33] Neil Murray, since 1999 executive producer of Glasgow's Tron Theatre, as the NTS's Executive Director;[9][31][33][34] playwright David Greig, as dramaturg ("He will be discussing plays, suggesting plays, working with international writers, helping set up translations and looking at ways we can work on existing Scottish plays," Featherstone said);[31][32][33] playwright and poet Liz Lochhead as an artistic associate;[31][32][33] and Simon Sharkey, then artistic director of Cumbernauld Theatre, as associate director of NTS Learn (set up to foster and support a culture of creative learning throughout Scotland embedded in all areas of the NTS's work and programme, to "open up great theatre experiences to as many people as possible across Scotland").
[9][33] Featherstone and the team undertook intensive engagement with theatre professionals and groups throughout Scotland[35][36] and began developing ideas and strategy.
[35][37] In late 2005, Featherstone commented, "I have spent many hours debating the notion of a 'national theatre' and the responsibility that entails.
"[37] On 2 November 2005, Featherstone unveiled the National Theatre of Scotland's inaugural programme to a packed audience at the Tramway in Glasgow,[9] having announced it the previous day.
[37] The season included ten first night shows on the theme of Home, Black Watch scheduled for August 2006, and various other productions.
"We spent a long time thinking of how to present our opening night and finally came up with 'Home'", Featherstone commented the week before launch.
The opposite is about ten directors, it is about taking a word, 'Home', which can be domestic or political and creating a work that is all over Scotland, so it has resonance for all the communities it is in.
"[28] The 10 experimental site-specific shows were staged simultaneously in non-theatre locations all across Scotland, with an "official first night" of 25 February 2006.
We wanted to cut through all the stultifying speculation as to what the first production would be, who would be in it, where it would be, and instead give 10 directors the opportunity to create theatre across the whole of Scotland.
[9][45] Featherstone's response to the play's success recognises its contribution to the National Theatre of Scotland's brand.