International Comedy Edinburgh Previews 2025

Event information

Every year we present a selection of the top shows warming up before heading North to the Edinburgh Festival. Your ticket entitles you to see both full shows for less than the price of one in Edinburgh.
NOTE EARLIER START TIMES and any CHANGES to advertised running order.
1st show starts 8pm, 2nd show starts 9.15pm.
Check www.downstairsatthekingshead.com for details of who's on tonight.

Mark Thomas WD40
Mark Thomas celebrates 40 years at the mic. In those years he has changed laws on tax, jailed arms dealers, helped start a comedy circuit in Palestine, given evidence before three Parliamentary select committees and has taken the police to court three times and won. The world’s moving far too fast to predict what the content will be but it is the normal stuff of government and personal mayhem. Expect jokes, rants, politics, swearing and possible nudity as he emerges from large cake singing Happy Birthday Mr President.* *Cake correct at time of publication.

John Kearns
John Kearns is an actor, writer and the only comedian to have won both the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Best Show (Shtick) and Best Newcomer (Sight Gags for Perverts) in the awards’ 40-year history.
John was a breakout star of series 14 of Taskmaster (Channel 4) and the co-host of Guessable on Comedy Central alongside Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies. He played the lead role in cult hit BBC3/Netflix sitcom Top Coppers and has also appeared on shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Sky) and House of Games (BBC2).

Beyond John’s Edinburgh Comedy Award success his live shows have also notably picked up three Melbourne Comedy Award nominations, and he was twice-voted one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners. John’s fifth stand-up comedy hour The Varnishing Days was his biggest and most critically-acclaimed tour show to date. It was directed by Olivier Award-winning director Jon Brittain, won Best Show at the Chortle Awards 2024 and secured his third Melbourne Comedy Award nomination. The show toured nationally, was twice-extended and played over 100 dates including 4 sold-out shows at the Bloomsbury Theatre and 2 sold-out shows at the iconic Royal Court Theatre, London. The show was filmed and released as a special on Sky and Now TV in August 2024.

Important Notes:
Bills may alter at late notice - check on www.downstairsatthekingshead.com for any last-minute changes.
There is no reserved seating Downstairs. We can seat 70 and have 10 standing spaces. Your ticket guarantees entry, but if you want a good seat, please be with us by the advertised door opening time.
Please bring evidence of booking (i.e; your confirmation email). On phone is fine - save trees!
You can book tickets up to 6pm on the day of the show. After then, any remaining tickets will be sold on a first-come first-served basis on the door at the advertised “doors open” time.
Also please note that, as an intimate venue, we discourage large group bookings, so tickets are limited on this show to a MAXIMUM of 4 per person.
We want everyone to enjoy the show. Please don’t talk during the performance and ensure your mobile phone is turned off. You will be required to leave without refund if your behaviour is disruptive. No recording in any medium is allowed without prior permission.
Intoxicated persons will not be admitted.
The use of E cigarettes is prohibited
Note we do not allow food downstairs. If you are planning on eating upstairs before the show, please allow plenty of time to finish before coming downstairs.