This weird creature may just be a foam ball and a white glove, but he spent an evening enchanting audiences in a sell-out Oxford show.

Alvin was the star of the play Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer which was on at the Wall Arts Centre on South Parade for a one-off performance.

His creator is Tim Watts, who came up with the play five years ago and has been touring around the world with it ever since.

He said: “It’s a one-man show with lots of animation and puppetry which I operate myself. Alvin’s big eye makes him quite expressive, he’s a charming little chap.”

While the critter may be cute, his story is not.

Mr Watts explained: “Unfortunately, Alvin loses his wife at the beginning of the show. Her soul sinks to the bottom of the ocean, and Alvin has to go through this post-apocolyptic underwater world to find it and be with her again.

“The play deals with grief, love, loss. The emotions and pathos are very much aimed at adults, although we do get kids coming along as well.”

This is not the first time Mr Watts, a 29-year-old performer from Australia, has performed in Oxford. He said: “We actually performed the play in Oxford two years ago.

“The Wall Arts Centre and the audience were fantastic – we had a sold-out show and we got a really amazing response.”