To summon the words of The Great Gatsby's author F Scott Fitzgerald, "the very rich... are different from you and me".

And while it remains to be seen how Michael Chiang's upcoming comedy about tai tais titled High Class will illuminate those differences, his actresses are already getting a heady taste of a world they admit they're wholly unfamiliar with.

"When I was little, my mother had a friend who married a wealthy man. And every time she came to see us, she would bring these really expensive gifts ... That's about all I knew of tai tais (high society women) then," says Mina K, who plays a beauty queen hoping to trade her tiara for a Tiffany Diamond Oval.

"But now I know that it's hard work being a high society woman. She does charity work, throws respectable parties and does all she can to maintain her high position and that of her family.

Everyone's watching her and she can't screw up ... It's like being royalty."

High Class, directed by Beatrice Chia-Richmond, centres on a divorced super-tai tai who produces her own reality TV show to groom aspiring tai tais hoping to nab a rich man and move up the society ladder. Written by Chiang, it hopes to do for tai tais what his most popular work Army Daze did for National Service boys.

Actress Nikki Muller plays the lead role of the super tai tai, a former SQ girl who marries the richest man in Singapore only to be have him stolen by her best friend. To research for the role, Muller spoke to several tai tais to get a glimpse into their much-envied lifestyles.

"The thing is, a tycoon won't marry just any attractive woman - he needs someone with real style and substance because the stakes are so high for him," she says. "What most people don't know is that the tai tai is pretty powerful and often has a say in the investment decisions her husband makes. But she gets almost no credit for her role behind the scenes."

Audrey Luo, who plays a village girl from Beijing who comes to Singapore for a better life, concurs with Muller: "They're not trophy wives. They need to be very smart to hang on to their men, because other women are eyeing him too."

"And they are actually very competitive," adds actress Kimberly Chan, "making sure their kids do well in school so they can carry forth the family status and wealth. Families are very important to the tai tai." Chan plays Muller's best friend who steals her billionaire husband.

"Those five hours in the beauty salon? That's for the next five hours they'll spend on their feet schmoozing with the who's-who of society just to stay on top," adds Elizabeth Lazan who plays a dengue-control inspector dreaming of a more glamorous life.

But if there's an upside to being a tai tai that most of the actresses agree on, it's the designer clothing they get to wear on a daily basis.

Muller enthuses: "Daaarling, it's Herve Leger all the way for me. Michael (Chiang) and I went to the store the other day and I got to pick anything I wanted to wear for the play. Oh my god, the clothes! I was a kid in a candy store ... I still am!"

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