Kathleen Turner returns to the London stage to star opposite Ian McDiarmid in the UK premiere of Bakersfield Mist.

Written by Stephen Sachs, the play tells the story of unemployed bartender Maude. After buying a painting for a few bucks, Maude believes it to be a Jackson Pollock, but when world-class art expert Lionel Percy flies over from New York to authenticate the painting at her trailer park home, he has no idea what he is about to discover.

The two-hander, which is directed by Polly Teale in the West End, received its world premiere at Los Angeles’ Fountain Theatre in 2011.

Arguably best known for her screen roles in films including Romancing The Stone, Crimes Of Passion and Body Heat, Turner has previous appeared on stage in productions including Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof on Broadway, a performance for which she received a Tony Award, and The Graduate in the West End. Turner’s role in Bakersfield Mist marks her third performance in the West End.

Fellow Tony Award winner McDiarmid, who won an Olivier Award for his performance in 1982’s Insignificance at the Royal Court, has most recently appeared in productions including Life Of Galileo for the RSC, the National Theatre’s Emperor And Galilean and The Prince Of Homburg at the Donmar Warehouse. On screen, he is best known for playing the role of Darth Sidious in Star Wars.