Woodcutter - Edinburgh Fringe 2026

There is something immediately warm and personal about Woodcutter, John Anthony Gorman’s autobiographical one-man show about returning to his late parents’ Glasgow home and facing the difficult task of clearing it out.

What could simply have been a story about grief instead becomes a funny, affectionate and moving look at family, childhood and the strange power that ordinary possessions can hold over us.

Gorman is an effortlessly engaging performer. He establishes a connection with the audience almost immediately and maintains it throughout, speaking with such openness and ease that the production often feels more like sitting listening to someone share stories than watching a traditional piece of theatre.

As he works his way through the house, different rooms and objects trigger memories from throughout his life. Some are wonderfully funny, particularly those rooted in the very specific experience of growing up in a Glasgow family, while others reveal the more painful reality behind why he is there in the first place.

It is this balance that works particularly well.

Woodcutter never becomes overwhelmed by its sadness. The humour feels completely natural rather than something inserted to lighten the mood, and Gorman allows the emotional moments to arrive in much the same way that grief often does, unexpectedly and through the smallest of things.

There is also something incredibly relatable about the idea at the centre of the production. A seemingly meaningless object can suddenly become impossible to throw away because of the person, place or moment attached to it. As Gorman gradually empties his parents’ home, it becomes clear that clearing a house and leaving a home behind are two very different things.

Carrying a one-man production requires enormous confidence, but Gorman makes it look remarkably easy. He is a charismatic and natural storyteller who can have the room laughing one moment before quietly shifting the atmosphere the next.

Woodcutter is ultimately a celebration of family as much as it is an exploration of loss. Funny, tender and refreshingly sincere, it finds something universal in one man’s very personal collection of memories.

Woodcutter plays at Triplex Studio at theSpace until 29 August. BUY TICKETS -

https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/woodcutter

SHOW INFORMATION

Show: Woodcutter Performer: John Anthony Gorman Venue: theSpace Triplex Rating: ★★★★☆ Reviewed by: Liam