There's a lot in the show about that ­ how come bullshit behaviour hangs around long after the case against it has been argued, won and closed? Why is it so hard to change? Here you have the beginnings of A Mystery Wrapped Inside A Nigga. And in a year that has included two family members dying, stage time being lost and sexual activity being dramatically reduced (don't ask), I have had more time to think than in previous years of comedy. As stand-up comedians we have the opportunity to investigate infinite insights and possibilities. I just got into how terrifying and dedicated she is as a player. I hope I'm graduating from feeling happy for "any nigger doing anything" as Richard Pryor said You have to judge people by a higher standard than that.

It does nobody any good if black people are in positions of power and doing the same incompetent job that white people are doing. In effect we continue to subjugate ourselves to the standards that we claim oppress us. I was quite proud when I watched the Serena Williams game and found I didn't have a response to her based on her colour. For example, I know blacks who support Serena Williams because she is black and Americans who are pro-war just because they are American Which is absurd. So I'm less inclined to allow my allegiance to a group ­ be it American, black, male, whatever ­ to distort my objectivity You can often be made to feel heretical when you don't. Our two new directors have been very inspiring and created a very good feeling."Christian is so excited about going to Edinburgh, playing London and being on stage."The play is due to transfer to London's Gielgud Theatre from 3 September..

It's a dangerous game as it further perpetuates the illusion of the exclusivity of pain based on gender, race, nationality etc. To move beyond the doldrums in which debate has lain for so many years requires a willingness to divorce yourself from the things that are familiar and, therefore, easy Otherwise you build a home in the hell that you know. I've had trouble before but my response to it is very different this time. As I look at the labyrinth of excuses that I have constructed for myself I see this in the wider context of groups I bear allegiance to and even many I don't. My pain is greater than your pain: it's a little self-deception that many groups play to relieve themselves of the responsibility of empathising with someone who is not like them. As unpleasant as this sometimes has been, it's an amazingly good time to be me right now Nothing fuels jokes like angst.

This August poses a challenge for me. I arrive at the Fringe more sure of my unsureness than I have been before. Not only am I screwed-up but I'm not screwed-up in any way that's particularly original (a major but necessary blow to the ego). Everyone's very comfortable with the new arrangements."Slater, whose movies include Heathers, True Romance and Broken Arrow, has recently been the subject of a string of tabloid stories about his visits to A-list restaurants and the lap-dancing venue Stringfellows during his stay in London for rehearsals.Producers say his illness is a blow, but Ms Burns said she was keeping her fingers crossed that he would be fit for the first performance at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms this week."We don't know exactly when Christian will be fit to come back to work, but there's no question of him walking out," she said. Either everything falls to bits or everything comes together With our first crisis, the latter happened. "He's obviously been given medication and he needs to get some sleep, but he's generally healthy and in good shape so that will aid his recovery."He said he had a fever and he was coming out in blotches. Felix Dexter [another member of the cast] got it in the second week of rehearsals, although he wasn't actually off for very long - you feel ill and get the spots when you are over the worst of it."It's just one of those things, Sometimes when you have a crisis two things tend to happen.