What happens when a storyteller/musician who specialises in Australian stories teams up with an actor/musician/ theatre worker who for 23 years has been creating theatre in a Chilean men’s prison?

The result is a storytelling show - La Digna Rabia, DIGNIFIED ANGER, Stories for a Perilous Now - where Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky and Penny Glass 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 bullshit’ out of the way, they move on to tell and sing alternative stories.

“OMG this is good stuff. Class act. Highly recommended. Go!” (Hamish Sewell Qld)

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; the 14th century tale that asks, ‘What do women desire most, above all else’ - the answer may surprise! - and more.

“What a magical, mystical, uplifting afternoon. Thank you.” (Beccy Wandell, Qld)

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 (see bios below) and coming to terms with our Indigenous-Colonial history, and a love story.

History of DIGNIFIED ANGER

The debut performance was at the 2023 Woodford Folk Festival. In 2024 they played a bunch of house concerts/theatres in Brisbane and the Sunshine coast. In March - May 2025 the show is touring regional Victoria, Canberra, Sydney and in August returns to Queensland.

Full gig details: https://www.janwositzky.com.au/dignified-anger/

BIOS

Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky OAM grew up listening to the stories of his Czech-Scots family, tales of dangerous escapes in post-WW2 Europe and sailing to Australia. As a teenager Jan honed his storytelling skills cracking jokes down the back of the school bus – jokes being classic three-part structure - then in 1971, playing the tea-chest bass, he became a founder of the renowned Australian folk band, The Bushwackers.

They toured Australia and Europe for a decade, then Jan moved on to a career that combined stories and music, with acclaimed solo and ensemble theatre shows such as The Go-Between: William Murrungurk Buckley and Canakkale: Gallipoli.

He’s written award-winning television documentaries, many ABC radio features and best-selling oral history books with the likes of Phar Lap strapper/trainer Tommy Woodcock, and ‘up north’ with Yanyuwa, Garrwa and Wardaman people. Jan also takes honest Australian history performances into schools.

This show with Penny Glass, Dignified Anger, is Jan’s first significant move away from telling exclusively Australian stories. (www.janwositzky.com.au for full bio.)

Penny Glass grew up listening to stories from her Australian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish families, stories of displacement and a community that disappeared in the Holocaust.

In the 1970s Penny took to the streets with clowning and Commedia dell’Arte, studied community theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts, then in the 1980s and ‘90s nurtured her activism with political theatre and Latin American solidarity in Brisbane. In 1998, after many years working and touring Australia as an actor/musician and community theatre worker, Penny migrated to Chile with her son.

There, in that long, thin country with a rich history of oppression and resistance, she collaborated with diverse communities to create theatre, most notably for twenty years with male prisoners in Santiago. In 2012, Penny co-founded Colectivo Sustento, an organisation renowned internationally for community activism through theatre and gardening.

Penny teaches theatre skills for social action in technical institutes and universities (Chile and Australia) and is a published researcher. Dignified Anger brings Penny back to her roots in performance and storytelling.