FORMER Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes has turned his attention to comedy, unveiling the fruits of his classes at a Los Angeles acting school online.

Sharing YouTube videos of his recent sketches with iconic improv class the Groundlings, Hayes explained to fans: “This is what I’ve been doing for the past three years.”

The singer shot to fame 20 years ago as one-half of pop duo Savage Garden, earning number one singles both here and in the US, where he now lives. The group disbanded in 2001, and Hayes has since released four solo albums.

Now he’s tackling a different side of the entertainment industry: writing and performing live comedy.

In one of several sketches he’s shared with fans this week, Hayes plays a camp, high-maintenance character ‘Vernon’ in a one-man monologue, arguing with his partner to much laughter from the audience in attendance:

In another, the 43-year-old — who will celebrate his 10th wedding anniversary with husband Richard Cullen in June — harks back to his pop star past, posing as one-third of a boy band:

And while it’s been five years since the singer-songwriter’s last solo album, 2011’s Secret Codes and Battleships, fans shouldn’t worry he’s given up music altogether. In a post on his Facebook page, he explained exactly what he’d been up to:

“I get asked by people all the time if I’m ever going to make music again. I’ve never stopped. In fact, I’m writing a musical. I stepped away from the recorded music industry to study performance art, sketch comedy and improv because as well as wanting to write, produce and act — my lifelong dream has always been to write a stage musical. I’ve been quietly doing that for some time now, I just haven’t spoken of it publicly. I’m happy to let you know I spend most of my time when I’m not studying, working on songs for the project,” he writes.

“There are many sides to me. This one is pretty magical and I thank the universe every day for the wild and crazy rollercoaster my career has been.”