Set in a world in which Mother Nature has taken her revenge; the ice caps are melting, people and polar bears are desperate to survive but stand very little chance against the rapidly rising water.  This is a dying world, in need of a hero.  Enter, the eponymous character Alvin Sputnik, who, with little left to lose embarks on a quest to save the planet.

This is a simplistic tale, but one which captures emotions inherent in humanity.  We experience loss, hope and love, all within the space of a wonderfully romantic hour of pure abandonment.

The staging of this magnificent, Disney eat your heart out type show, was beautifully managed, with lighting and the gentle mandolin tracks toying with the audiences emotions and making us ever more empathetic with a little animated stick man.  The mixture of puppetry, animation and mime kept the show fresh and interesting, whilst being easily inventive too; a plastic bag used as a jelly fish wafting around in the ocean was met with many ‘oohs and ahs’.

It is not the most intricate of tales, and in all honesty that much doesn’t actually happen, but it is relatable, winsome and utterly enchanting. An absolute ‘must see’, of the Edinburgh Fringe, 2011.