WOODCUTTER
Clear the house. Keep the stories.
After his parents die, an only child returns from the USA to clear out his childhood home in Glasgow — confronting memories he can’t quite pack away while rediscovering what home truly means.
Catch it at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026
Woodcutter will be presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2026.
SpaceUK Triplex Studio
August 7th - August 29th
Press Contact: Matthew Shelley -Scottish Festivals PR
Trailer
about the show
Returning from the USA to clear out his childhood home in Glasgow, only child John Anthony Gorman finds himself alone in a house full of memories, laughter, and loss. Armed with cardboard boxes, he tackles each room, uncovering stories of family, identity, and the things we hold onto long after they’re gone.
Blisteringly funny and brutally honest, Woodcutter is an autobiographical one-man show about grief, home, and the complicated love between parents and children. As the house empties, the past grows louder, and what begins as clearing out a home becomes a journey through a lifetime — and a rediscovery of what home really means.
Following sold-out shows and two successful runs in Los Angeles and New York City, John Anthony will be returning home to perform Woodcutter in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026.
it’s history
Woodcutter began as a short play titled 7 Stages in a New York City short play contest with John Markland of Markland Studios. Shortly after, the piece was expanded into a full-length one-man show under the new title Woodcutter.
Developed under the direction of John Markland, the play was produced by Carolyn Shalah for a two-week run in Los Angeles in May 2025 at the Stella Adler Theater. Later that year, Woodcutter had its New York City debut at the United Solo Festival, including a sold-out performance.
The play was written by John Anthony Gorman and his wife, Mickele Hogan, and is produced by LifeWise Productions.
why “Woodcutter?”
Woodcutter was the name of John’s father’s pub in Motherwell, which he ran for over 50 years. He was a tradesman who helped build homes and buildings around Glasgow — a man who spent his life building places for other people to live.
This play is about clearing out the home he built for his own family.
Like a woodcutter clearing space in a forest, sometimes we have to clear away the past to see what’s still standing — and to understand what home really means.
a wee bit about John Anthony
John Anthony Gorman is a Scottish actor known for his work in television and film including Daredevil, Lioness, and The Blacklist. Born and raised in Glasgow and now based in the United States, Woodcutter is his first autobiographical stage work and the most personal story he has told.
on a personal note
After my parents both passed and our family home was packed up and sold, I found myself isolated by grief, searching for that sense of home that I had lost. They say grief has seven stages, but they come in no particular order, and they revisit you often.
While my story is uniquely mine, it's also everyone's. We are all faced with losing people we love and making peace with it in our own way, in our own time.
My wife encouraged me to share these experiences as a one-man show. I was hesitant at first — I wanted to honor my parents and not show them in a bad light. But the more I could expose the heartache, the more relatable the story became, and the stronger the love was felt.
What actually makes a home is not the four walls — it's the people in it. The memories, the celebrations, watching your team score the winning goal. But it's also the hard times, getting through them and never giving up on each other, even when it gets ugly. That's the “home” that lives in me now, and the only way to keep it alive is to share it with others and let people into my home through this play.
