International Comedy Edinburgh Previews 2026

International Comedy Edinburgh Previews 2026

Tickets available

About the show

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.


FLO & JOAN & WIP (P subject to availability, terms and conditions apply)


Musical comedians Flo & Joan have taken another band’s setlist and are using it to write their own show. This is their first attempt.


“Gosh, they are almost like a real band” (Bruce Dessau, Beyond a Joke). The pair will try and take up as much of the stage and as little of your patience as possible as they use another "real band's" setlist to write their own show - ruminating on themes such as ‘what is music?’, ‘how do you be a band?’, and ‘is comedy?’ in the sharp-tongued, deadpan way they have become accustomed to.


As seen on Live at the Apollo, The Royal Variety Performance, Comic Relief's Red Nose Day Live 2023 and their own comedy special 'Alive on Stage' for Amazon Prime.


ROBIN INCE


Info to come. It’ll be the usual Robin Ince stuff. You know what to expect.


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.

Featuring

Flo & Joan

Flo & Joan appearing at this event
Flo & Joan are a British-born, Toronto-based musical comedy duo, and sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey. The piano/percussion pair have headlined and played to sold-out audiences across North America and internationally including Montreal Sketchfest. "If Flanders & Swann and Flight of the Conchords and Garfunkel & Oates had a six-way time-travelling gang-bang that somehow mixed all their DNA, the offspring might end up sounding something like Flo and Joan" – Steve Bennett, Chortle

See Flo & Joan tour dates

Robin Ince

Robin Ince appearing at this event
This versatile comedy veteran delivers a highly improvised set which can cover a vast range of subjects and material. As seen on Mock The Week, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The Now Show, The News Quiz and Loose Ends. Chortle Award Winner 2009 and Winner of the Time Out Outstanding Comedy Achievement Award. 'Robin Ince is thoughtful, provocative and very funny' (The Times) 'When someone writes a history of modern comedy, they should make room for Robin Ince' (The Guardian).

See Robin Ince tour dates

Find places to stay near Kings Head Crouch End

on Monday 20 July 2026