In May, Ms Sofonda Blackmen and a sizzling ensemble of performers from Sydney will set the Macksville Ex-Services Club stage on fire with their bawdy brand of burlesque.

Think: 'high glamour' raunch, with just a flash of flesh, and the permission to laugh yourself giddy.

"What we do is nothing like the movie 'Burlesque', which had no burlesque in it - I like to explain what we do as 'pantomime for adults'," Sofonda said.

"It's all about the tease and there's a real art to it, but nobody takes themselves too seriously, that's for sure."

Sofonda Blackmen - her onstage persona - lives in Taylors Arm, and knows only too well what people have been going through since November.

"We were evacuated, but the road was blocked - we were stuck up there for three days with no power, water or means of escape," she said.

"We thought 'oh well, we've got a half-filled swimming pool if it comes to it, we can shelter in that'.

"In the end our little hamlet around the Pub was the only bit that was spared."

She jokes that this fundraiser is "just another excuse to put on a show", but she's seen how hard people are doing it at the moment.

"There's a couple of families up where I live that lost everything, even their tools. So they've even lost their means to make money and help themselves get back on their feet," she said.

"People really need the money."

And 100 per cent of the takings from this show are going to be distributed via Rotary to those survivors in the Valley who need it most.

The performers, and the sound tech are all donating their expertise.

Even the venue has been booked free of charge, thanks to Judy Ward.

Alinta Woulfe has just opened Wolfire Pole Studio on Princess St in Macksville and took less than a second to decide she wanted to be a part of this.

"A lot of people get stuck on how to help. Well, we have the ability to do this," she said.

"It's such a great opportunity to raise some money for people who were affected."

Alinta will bring some of her pole dancing magic to the Macksville stage. A friend from Coffs Harbour will also join her in a double act.

"I'm excited to bring pole out into the open in Macksville," she said.

The show on May 2 will feature 16 class acts - some of them award-winning - and will star Miss Eva Devore, a Sydney diva who originally hails from Scotts Head.

And in a sign of things to come, Auslan interpreter Mama La Roux will bring her saucy brand of sorcery to the Valley again.

If that's not enough, there will also be a daredevil sideshow to make your eyes water and nose hairs quiver.

The very next day, the troupe will be performing a free cabaret show at the Utungun Hall as a thankyou to our local firefighting heroes.

Tickets are already selling online at stickytickets.com.au/northernriversburlesque for $30 plus booking fee. They will be available at the door too, but Sofonda says don't bank on that option, with her last two local shows in Bowraville and Bellingen selling out well in advance.

"I don't expect this crowd to be exclusively from Macksville - people will come from near and far. We've gotten a real little following," she said.

They are still looking for a lighting operator with access to a spotlight and haze machine for the show. Anyone able to provide can contact Sofonda through her Northern Rivers Burlesque Facebook page.

Local medical centre welcomes a large dose of new doctors

Their world is the oyster