'Economic Apple' Quang Thang: 'I still ride a Wave train and take a bus home'

During the time the Hanoi Drama Theater was temporarily closed and performing arts programs were “frozen” due to the Covid-19 epidemic, artist Quang Thang also “disappeared”? How did the epidemic affect the economic life of the “Economic God”?

Not only Quang Thang but almost the whole country and the whole world are affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. Many businesses cannot do business and have to return, sell or rent.

Artists are also heavily affected by the pandemic, unable to perform. Who do artists serve? I just stay at home, confined within four walls. My wife goes to the market, and I cook for her. In general, I am like a... real maid.(Laugh).

The pandemic has affected my economic life a lot. Artists cannot perform for the audience. I also have no money to support my family.

Not just me, recently I've just been staying home to take care of my children and working in a different field.

Meritorious Artist Quang Thang stays home to help his wife cook during the social isolation period due to Covid-19.

At a time when the performing industry is facing difficulties due to the pandemic, many artists are turning to online business to earn extra income, why don't you give it a try?

Many people have an old background and have sold online before. Moreover, they are good at technology, while I am very bad at it. If I were to sell online, I wouldn’t know how to sell. So that’s it!

Although I don’t do any business or trading, during the pandemic, I also participated in some meaningful programs such as “Hanoi Drama Sings to Beat Covid-19”. The artists come up with their own ideas, choose songs and perform by recording videos and then uploading them to the official website of Hanoi Drama Theater.

Besides, I and artists Tuan Hung, Xuan Bac, Tu Long, Van Dung... participated in the MV "Vietnam, let's unite" dedicated to the frontline people fighting the epidemic.

After performing activities restarted, did you get many shows?

Now that my new job is gradually stabilizing, I am also preparing for the work of the Hanoi Drama Theater. Currently, I have just returned to the Theater so I want to focus on the Theater, not to mention personal programs.

Meritorious Artist Quang Thang has officially joined Hanoi Drama Theater, which has many famous artists such as People's Artist Hoang Dung, People's Artist Trung Hieu, Meritorious Artist Cong Ly... since August 2019.

Officially "living together" with People's Artist Cong Ly and People's Artist Trung Hieu, you also bought a small house in Hanoi, so do you plan to bring your wife and children to live with you?

I have no plans to bring my wife and children to live in Hanoi. Up here, the land is limited, the population is dense, and vegetables are expensive. The climate in Hai Phong is also cooler, not as stuffy as in Hanoi. Food and drinks in Hai Phong are also cheaper. My children are still studying, and my parents are both in Hai Phong, so I don't want to bring the whole family to Hanoi.

But anyway, you work here, the shows are busy, it's not easy to visit family?

Transportation is very convenient now. I catch a bus, go on the highway, and it takes me an hour to get home. Whenever I have free time, miss my wife and children, and say I'm going home, then even if it's 2am and there are no more buses, I'll go to the highway and catch a container truck to go home...

Other artists often "show off" their garden houses, villas, and supercars, but Quang Thang still... takes the bus?

I don't have a car yet. I think everyone has a different personality. I have 3 children and my wife doesn't have a job yet, so I'm focusing on taking care of my family.

So now, how do you go to work and perform shows?

I ride a motorbike. I own two motorbikes: a Wave and a Spacy. I never have to apologize to anyone when I ride a motorbike. I always arrive on time when I ride a motorbike. When I go to work or to a shoot, no matter how much traffic jams there are, I can choose and dodge, but I still arrive on time. When I ride a car, it's hard to arrive on time, and then I have to bow my head and apologize for being late. I use the Wave to transport wood, tree stumps, etc. for convenience. As for the Spacy, I use it to go to work or to shows.

Happy family of "Apple" Quang Thang.

The artists participating in the annual Tao Quan program all expressed their disappointment when there was no Tao Quan on New Year's Eve 2020. What do you personally hope for?

I and the entire Tao Quan crew are disappointed. I hope the pandemic will pass soon, and next year there will be a Tao Quan program. That is what I hope for.