The Divide section of Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website is dedicated to Kath Dunn-Mines for her commitment, support and dedication to the Ayckbourns over many years.

Kath is the Executive Assistant to Alan Ayckbourn's wife, Heather Stoney, and an integral part of their company Haydonning Ltd and charity Split Infinitive Ltd. She has worked for the Ayckbourns since the early 2000s and, among her many tasks, she is the primary proof reader for all of Alan Ayckbourn's plays.

Kath has an even longer association with Alan's home theatre, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, of which she has been a part of since her youth and where she later became an asset working with many different departments within the the company.

I first got to know Kath when I was the Deputy Box Office Manager at the SJT and Kath was one of the Box Office Assistants. We struck up a friendship based on our love of theatre and general geekiness. Little did I know that I would spend more time of my professional career in contact with Kath than anyone else as we both went onto be employed by the Ayckbourns.

The Divide is very close to Kath's heart - and she is one of the four people to whom Alan Ayckbourn dedicated the book. Kath was closely involved with the play from proofing it to assisting Alan edit it for its Gala Read-Through and unveiling during 2015; in which she also performed. She was part of the team of four people who 'performed' the entire novel - with its myriad characters - after Alan first finished writing the novel and was also closely involved with the proofing of the final novel during 2019.

Kath is a close and dear friend who has supported me through many of the high and lows during the past two decades of my life. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with someone who shares my passion for the work of Alan Ayckbourn and who, like me, considers themselves to be astonishingly lucky to be working so closely with Alan and Heather.


Simon Murgatroyd