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.

Phil Ellis

Phil Ellis was nominated for the prestigious Sky Best Comedy Show at the 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Awards and won The Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality for Phil Ellis’s Excellent Comedy Show. The show was ranked in the top 20 best-reviewed shows of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023.

He starred and co-wrote three series of his own BBC Radio 4 sitcom Phil Ellis is Trying, co-starring Johnny Vegas, Lolly Adefope, Amy Gledhill, Alexei Sayle, Sindhu Vee, Jack Dee, Lee Mack, Mark Lamarr and Sean Lock. The series was nominated for a BBC Audio Award in 2019.

In 2014, Phil won the Edinburgh Comedy Award’s panel prize with his anarchic, sleeper hit show Funz and Gamez. After meeting incredible critical acclaim, Funz and Gamez was broadcast as part of BBC Radio 4’s Fresh from the Fest and BBC Comedy Feeds (BBC Three). The show went on to have an 18-show run at the Soho Theatre and all major UK comedy festivals.

Phil’s TV appearances include The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), Roast Battle (Comedy Central) There She Goes (BBC Two), Drunk History: UK (Comedy Central), as well as writing and performing credits on BBC Three’s The Tapeface Tapes and co-writing 3 comedy shorts for Dave.

Eli Matthewson: Night Terror
Winner – Best Comedy Dunedin Fringe 2024. Winner – Fred Award 2021 NZ International Comedy Festival. In 2023 my boyfriend tried to kill me in my sleep. We are still going strong. This is a story about theft, anxiety and unforgettable biscuits. A new hour of comedy from one of NZ's best. As seen on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, Have You Been Paying Attention? NZ, Celebrity Treasure Island. 'Punchlines that whip back around like a tossed ponytail' (Theatreview.org.nz). **** (Scotsman). **** (Chortle.co.uk).

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.