Legend of Youth: Brings audience with true emotions

About five tons of soil from Dong Loc Junction in the central province of Ha Tinh have been brought to the Vietnamese Women's Museum to recreate the battlefield in the war against the US.

It's being used to build the set for the play Legend of Youth, which pays tribute to 10 young volunteers who died heroically at Dong Loc Junction during the war.

The museum space will feature historical artifacts and actresses telling the tragic stories of female martyrs.

"We know that in every inch of the Dong Loc battlefield, there are traces of bullets, bombs and blood of more than 4,000 people who died there. It is real, not an illusion. That is why we place five tons of Dong Loc soil into the decorative art installation in the program to evoke emotions," director and playwright Le Quy Duong told The Hanoi Times.

Director and playwright Le Quy Duong. Photos: Ngo Minh/The Hanoi Times

He believed that audiences and visitors to the museum would experience the story of the 10 young heroic volunteers at the Dong Loc battlefield in a vivid way.
"Moreover, I want to create the most authentic and profound emotions for the young actresses, as if they were standing on the ground of the old battlefield, experiencing and realizing that the show is not only a work of art but also a tribute to the today's generation to those who died for the Fatherland," the director said.
Poet Dang Vuong Hung was deeply moved by the performance.

The audience had emotional moments while watching the show.

"The strength of a museum lies in its artifacts. Therefore, the use of bomb shells, Dong Loc soil, and other war memorabilia will create strong emotions for both the actresses and the audience. The story of 10 young female volunteers has become the inspiration for many film and stage works, so staging another play on the theme is not easy. However, director Le Quy Duong succeeded in touching the hearts of the audience," said Colonel Dang Vuong Hung.

When writing the script of Legend of Youth, director Le Quy Duong went to the old battlefield many times, visited the graves of women martyrs, and read lots of documents. When his emotions were strong enough, he wrote the script non-stop for three days.

"As a professional playwright, I suddenly had a new feeling. I feel like someone is writing with my fingers. I see the creativity coming through me, not from me. I do not impose my subjectivity on the actors. I let them be original, live with me, and tell me what they want," Duong said.

The director has been rigorous and consistent in his casting of actresses. The goal is to find 10 girls between the ages of 18 and 24, exactly the same age as the 10 volunteers at Dong Loc Junction in the past.

"I am not looking for 10 actresses with good acting skills, but people who are sensitive and honest enough to bring emotions to the audience," said director Le Quy Duong.

In particular, director Le Quy Duong also invited People's Artist Hoang Cuc to be the narrator of the play.

The play will be performed every Saturday and Sunday evening at the Vietnamese Women's Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.

Some scenes from the play:

All actresses are amateurs and very young. They perform in an innocent way, expressing their own true emotions.

Memorial to 10 young female volunteers at Dong Loc Junction.

Without fear, day and night, young women volunteered to clear the way for the convoy from the north to support the south.