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This year's Dim Sum Dollies showcase, you see, is titled The History Of Singapore and will see the tasty trio putting their cabaret-comedy stamp on the events and personalities that shaped this little isle from 'the beginning of time to 1965', says Tan, 35.

It is a new direction of sorts for the girls, she explains. For the past five years, the Dim Sum Dollies have staged their annual shows by interspersing satiric song-and-dance numbers with bite-sized comedy skits.

Their revue alter-egos were created in 2002, when the three good friends staged a modest cabaret at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, drawing inspiration from diverse influences such as London cabaret queens and home-grown comic duo Wang Sha and Ye Feng.

Then, Tan called their act, which cost $50,000 and played to 300 people, 'an upgraded, English version of a Channel 8 variety show'.

By 2005, their popularity gave them the confidence to stage their show at the 1,900-seater Esplanade Theatre.

On the secret of the Dollies' success, fellow funnyman Jonathan Lim, who creates the annual sketch comedy show Chestnuts, says: 'They embody that combination of local and cosmopolitan flavours and the show is a little bit getai and a little bit cabaret, both trashy and classy.

'There's also a lot of social observation, which is a niche they fill wonderfully.'

Adds Dr Robert Liew, who heads events company Arts Management Associates: 'Their shows are very topical and they have got their fingers on the pulse of contemporary life in Singapore.

'I have sometimes taken foreign guests to Dim Sum Dollies shows and they enjoy the satirical bits that poke fun at Singapore's political situation.'

After playing a cheeky chorus in the musical Little Shop Of Horrors last year, the Dollies return to the Esplanade Theatre this year with a two-hour show that cost around $700,000 and took six months to put together. Singapore Press Holdings sponsored about $100,000 of the cost.

Producer Shireen Abdullah, 36, of Tan's company Dream Academy Productions, would not reveal specific figures, but says the Dollies' shows have always broken even and were particularly profitable in 2004 and 2005.

Past performances have featured such favourites as the Parking Pontianaks and a meeting between the Merlion, Vanda Miss Joaquim and the Kucinta cat.

The Dollies decided to do something new this year.

Tan says: 'We didn't want to do the same old show again, even though people do enjoy that formula.'

She adds that she went to a party, where a friend casually suggested the Dollies take on the history of Singapore.

Something clicked in her mind, she immediately called her two partners-in-crime and everyone got excited.

'I could see all the costumes and potential skits straight away,' remembers Yong, 31.

Oei, 34, says: 'Everything just fell into place.'

Tan, who is the chief writer, set about doing her research, surfing online resources, picture books about old Singapore and reference books like Singapore: The Encyclopedia.

She says: 'I read quite a bit, but I had to be mindful that it's broad comedy, not a history class, and nobody will laugh unless they know what we are talking about. There are so many facts, it was quite difficult to distil.

'My best guidebook turned out to be the Secondary 2 history textbook I bought from Bras Basah Complex.'

She cobbled together a rough draft, and the three started workshopping the material collectively with director Glen Goei.

'We added stuff and took some things out,' says Yong. 'I really enjoy these shows because they are very collaborative. Selena's not very sensitive to criticism and not precious about her writing.'

Along the way, the trio discovered interesting factoids about Singapore's history.

Tan says she was struck by the fact that opium had been manufactured in Pepys Road (off Pasir Panjang Road) till as late as the 1960s, while Oei found out that rickshaws had been phased out only in the 1950s. Yong says she realised that former entertainment complex New World had been around since the 1880s.

They are rather tight-lipped about which snippets of history actually made it into the show, as revealing too much would spoil the jokes.

Sang Nila Utama and Stamford Raffles will make appearances 'in some form'. There will also be a song titled Be My Angmoh, chronicling the birth of the Sarong Party Girl, known for seducing expatriate men.

Pirates and Japanese soldiers will make appearances, and Dollies sidekick Hossan Leong will play a bullock cart puller in a skit that attempts to create a parallel with the migrant workers situation in Singapore today.

There will also be a number featuring the Dollies as samsui women.

'I love that number,' Yong says. 'There's a lot of pathos and humour and the uniforms look very visually striking and recognisable to most Singaporeans.'

The History Of Singapore is not the only showcase for the Dollies this year.

They will also make their first appearance at the National Day Parade, performing two National Day songs. But for the moment, the show is consuming all their energy.

Oei says: 'Every year we feel so tired, this show takes so much out of us.'

But the afterglow is always worth the trouble.

Yong adds: 'I think with all our shows, the audience comes away feeling very patriotic.'

So is there a sequel already in the works?

'I don't know, we'll see how Part One goes,' Tan says. 'Although, after 1965, things do get very interesting. The nearer you get to our current date, the greater the opportunities to satirise.'

Dim Sum Dollies fan Angeline Ang, 26, says she is looking forward to seeing more of the trio this year. The publicist has caught every Dollies show since 2003.

'They have always been both irreverent and thought-provoking and they have great chemistry together,' she says.

'A lot of goodwill from the audience has probably accumulated after the past few shows, so people will have high hopes. I'm looking forward to having a good time.'

hxinyi@sph.com.sg