The road between San Francisco and Los Angeles is well worn thanks to Nick Leonard. The big guy with the smart mouth performs in the two cities regularly as a comic and host. This year was different, however, because Leonard took some time out to work the audiences in the UK. Don't worry if you missed him, he's sure to be back, and in the meantime GaydarNation quizzed him about queer comedy and, er, poo.

What are you doing over here?
Visiting friends, doing comedy and looking for the perfect toast rack.

What makes you laugh?
When the truth of the reality of the human condition is presented with all its unresolvable contradictions intact in a skewed yet deadly accurate and playfully worded observation. And poo jokes.

Do you have to translate any of your material for British audiences?
Not much aside from brand names and phrases, the concepts are pretty universal. We all poo.

Is there stuff you can say on a comedy stage here that you can't say back at home?
Most significantly, the whole John Ashcroft thing (Ed - Ashcroft is a right-wing, religious, homophobic nut and right hand man to President Bush) hangs over us in a very real way, although I have heard a few comics waxing nostalgic about the good old days of presidential assassinations.
 
What's so funny about being queer?
You. Ha. And that our everyday reality is considered so exotic by the general public when it's their rituals that are bizarre.
 
What's the worst comedy cliché in the world?
Jongleurs. And: "My parents should have known I was gay, because I _______ " (insert child does cute gay stereotype here)!

What's next for you?
Delusion, disappointment and despair. Or, a one-person show where I can address at length less "funny" subjects such as a fluid sexual identity versus a non-fluid sexual culture, the rigidity of "diversity", one's real identity as opposed to what one wants one's identity to be…and poo.

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