Celebrated Castlemaine storyteller Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky and fellow thespian Penny Glass will present their latest show La Digna Rabia, Dignified Anger, Stories for a Perilous Now as part of the 2025 Castlemaine Fringe Festival program at Northern Arts Hotel from March 27-29.
The duo will cheekily debunk some old, worn-out stories that got us to these perilous times – such as ‘survival of the fittest’ and that we humans should ‘subjugate nature’ to our will.
Then, with such ‘dangerous bullsh*t’ out of the way, they move on to tell and sing alternative stories.
The show debuted at the Woodford Folk Festival in 2023 and in 2024 played across Queensland.
The pair are currently embarking on a regional tour which includes a stopover at Castlemaine.
Taking a cue from the Latin American concept of La Digna Rabia – Dignified Anger, they tell of women who led Latin American indigenous communities to defy mines and dams on their country; the wisdom of the humble Australian bushman Bill Harney (1895-1962), who returned from WWI with a hatred of war; and the 14th century tale that asks, ‘What do women desire most, above all else’ – the answer may surprise! – and more.
These building blocks of the show are seamlessly linked with personal tales from Penny and Jan, including recollections of growing up in Australian migrant families and coming to terms with our Indigenous-Colonial history, and a love story.
And there’s music! Between them, Penny and Jan play old-time five-string banjo, quena, flute, bodhran, harmonica, bones and spoons, with original music and songs from folk legends such as Chilean Victor Jara, Bob Dylan and Australian Shane Howard.
Audiences have been full of praise for the show with Queenslander Beccy Wandell commenting,“What a magical, mystical, uplifting afternoon. Thank you” and Robyn Davidson describing it as “a very fine and heartening evening.”
For tickets visit events.humanitix.com/dignified-anger
