The Original Theatre Company is delighted to present the national tour and a major revival of Frederick Knott’s gripping thriller, Wait Until Dark, starring Jack Ellis (Prime Suspect, Bad Girls) as Mike, Karina Jones as Susy and Oliver Mellor (Coronation Street) as Sam Henderson.

Set amidst the social turbulence of 1960s London, the play follows the story of Susy, a blind woman who, left alone in her apartment, becomes the victim of an elaborate scam hatched by a group of conmen. Susy is left to fend for herself, and eventually finds a way to turn the tables on the conmen and give them a taste of life in the dark

Susy is played by Karina Jones, who has a degenerative sight condition and is visually impaired. She is associate director of Invisible Flash Theatre Company and works as a visually impaired access consultant for many companies, including . She was part of the 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony team. Karina recently belly danced for the world’s press outside 10 Downing Street to highlight disability rights issues.

Vicky Edwards spoke to actress Karina Jones about equality, life on the high wire and her involvement in the play version of one of the scariest films of all time…

Karina was registered blind at the age of 13, but she has never let her lack of sight get in her way.

Studying ballet and acting, a thirst for adventure took her to Egypt and Istanbul, where she trained as an authentic belly dancer. She is also a trained circus performer and is one of only a handful of successful visually impaired and classically trained actresses to have a parallel career as an international aerial circus performer – a skill set that saw her perform as part of the Paralympics Opening ceremony team.

"But it’s still not a level playing field for disabled performers,” she says. “It’s 2017 and yet I am the first blind actress to take the role of a blind person in a play that has been around since the 60s.

“Producers and directors should give disabled roles to disabled actors. A blind person wouldn’t be auditioned for, say, Desdemona – we’re not there yet – but with roles that are written as disabled or impaired I think it is only fair that they should be played by disabled actors.”

“In this play I’ve totally got an advantage because I’ve got a lot of shorthand. I’ve got a head start because I have real insight into the character.

“The role of the blind person is really empowering. The conmen think she’s going to be a complete pushover and she’s not. Her character goes on a massive journey and she grows in strength throughout,” says Karina.

“I am really looking forward to visiting Malvern. I can’t wait to discover the town and to share this incredible play with audiences there. It is going to be a brilliant and thrilling production.

"And playing this part is, for me, an amazing thing; a real push forward for equality. It’s brilliant.”

Wait Until Dark will be at Malvern Theatres from Tuesday, October 24 to Saturday, October 28. To book, call the box office on 01684 892277 or visit malvern-theatres.co.uk