THEY should have asked Jack Ellis to write the marketing blurb for Wait Until Dark. Catching up with him mid rehearsal, his absolute enthusiasm for this edge-of-the seat thriller is highly infectious.

“It’s funny, moving and extremely scary,” he says. “In many ways it’s about darkness.”

Written by Frederick Knott, best known for writing Dial M For Murder, Wait Until Dark is the play which inspired the 1967 film that earned Audrey Hepburn Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress. Widely regarded as one of the scariest films of all time, this nail-biting thriller is set amidst the social turbulence of 1960s London.

Susy, a blind woman, becomes the victim of an elaborate scam hatched by a group of conmen. Left to fend for herself, she eventually finds a way to turn the tables on her oppressors.

“It is evocative of its time and in some ways it reminds me of early Pinter, who was just starting out when the film was made,” says Jack.

“Some of the dialogue is very Pinteresque. It could be terribly old fashioned, but we’ve got a really good young director [The Original Theatre Company’s Alastair Whatley] and he manages to make it feel fresh while keeping a sense of period.”

Acknowledging that scams make regular headlines today, Jack says that the production definitely has a modern feel.

“It’s a 1960s version of Hustle. In fact, think Hustle meets Woman in Black meets Pinter,” he says, laughing. “But it does weave a web that destabilises the audience. It is a shocker and there is real violence in it,” he cautions.

But as well as the writing, Jack is really excited that for the first time in the play’s history, the production will feature a blind actress in the role of Susy.

“Karina Jones is absolutely amazing and her being in the play makes rehearsals fascinating,” he marvels. “It adds a totally different dimension; the danger is heightened and hugely ratcheted up as a result of Karina playing the role.”

Jack’s career spans a vast breadth of credits from soaps such as Bad Girls, Coronation Street to The National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End.

Salisbury is a date on the tour that holds a particular memory for Jack, who recalls a family road trip to see his older brother perform in his first job, in The Importance of Being Earnest in the city.

“My big brother, Robin Ellis, was the original TV Poldark, but his first two jobs in the 60s were in Salisbury and Cheltenham. We travelled down in the Humber Hawk with mum and dad and I remember that my middle brother was revising for his A Levels. At some point in the trip the car got stolen and my brother lost all his A Level notes. He still managed to pass,” recalls Jack.

Wait Until Dark runs at Salisbury Playhouse from Monday (September 25) until Saturday, September 30.