Eirik Stubø trained at the directing programme of Statens teaterhøgskole, graduating in 1995. In the same year he made his directorial debut with Oleanna by David Mamet.
Following his studies, Stubø joined Rogaland Teater, where he served as artistic director from 1997 to 2000 and directed a number of contemporary playwrights as well as classics of the absurdist repertoire. He subsequently became artistic director of Nationaltheatret in Oslo (2000–2008), where he staged works by, among others, Henrik Ibsen and Lars Norén.
For his production of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, which was also performed in New York in 2006, he received the Off-Broadway OBIE Award in 2007. He was later awarded both the Hedda Award and the Norwegian Critics’ Prize for Rosmersholm (2009).
After his tenure in Oslo, Stubø held leadership positions at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern and at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm, where he served as artistic director from 2015 to 2019. Since 2021, he has been one of the resident directors at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo.