An art performance celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Dong Loc Victory is being produced by the Vietnam Women's Museum and director Le Quy Duong.

Titled Huyen Thoai Thanh Xuan (Legend of Youth), the performance is dedicated to 10 young female volunteers who gave their lives for the Dong Loc Victory during the anti-American war.

Dong Loc T-junction is located in Dong Loc Commune in the Central province of Ha Tinh, on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The stage is designed to recreate the Dong Loc battlefield.

From 1965 to 1968, the US Army dropped nearly 50,000 bombs and fired tens of thousands of missiles on the Dong Loc T-junction to cut off the transport route to the southern front.

To keep the traffic flowing, all human resources were mobilized to clear the road.

Ten girls between the ages of 17 and 24 volunteered to work at the Dong Loc T-junction to ensure the safe operation of the supply route to the southern front.  The bombing killed them all on July 24, 1968, while they were trying to fill bomb craters and repair the road.

Director Le Quy Duong instructs the actresses.

According to director Le Quy Duong, the sacrifice of 10 young girls and other volunteers, soldiers, and people at the Dong Loc battlefield are noble symbols of revolutionary heroism, expressing the desire for peace of every Vietnamese. All will be recreated in the art space of Legend of Youth.

Le Quy Duong said that since the 10 heroines died young on the Dong Loc battlefield, the 60-minute performance conveys a profound message to today's young generations: "Live a life worth living.

They have been the inspiration for many artists, but Duong is confident that he will bring a different perspective to the audience and deliver a meaningful message to today's young generation in a context where the world is still at war and conflict.

"The staging concept in this play is also different from other shows. Instead of choosing 10 actresses with good acting skills to play the roles of 10 female martyrs, I am looking for young people who are sensitive enough to bring emotions to the audience," said the director.

A young actress rehearses for the art performance. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Director of the Vietnamese Women's Museum, said this is a program that the museum has put a lot of effort into and is a highlight that enriches the museum's activities and fulfills its mission to educate the domestic and international public about the historical traditions of Vietnamese women.

"The historical story of young women with a strong fighting spirit will be told at the museum, where many war memorabilia collected from the battlefield in the past will be displayed," Tuyet said.

The program will be launched on Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20, 2023) and will be performed regularly for domestic audiences and international tourists at the Vietnamese Women's Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.