SEA Show looks so irresistible I'm tempted to borrow a clutch of children to give myself an excuse to go along.

A genuine Cornish mermaid, a fractious seagull and a host of other puppet characters will be welcomed along to Pontardawe Arts Centre on Saturday.

Actor Craig Johnson brings the one-man show to life, carrying some shanties and a little of the salty sting of Penzance with him.

"I wanted to create a show for children and families that would be fun and educational, because I love natural history.

"I live in Cornwall and I have added elements of life here, so there is a genuine Cornish mermaid, a seagull that picks up litter, rather than the usual ones that steal your chips, and there is a surfer who doesn't get much surfing done at all."

The puppets do owe quite a lot, as far as facial features go, to the Muppets, and Craig makes them all himself in his garage workshop.

But the influence of the most famous, badly behaved, humanly controlled bird is there too.

"Yes, Rod Hull and Emu did influence me. I love all the classic puppet shows."

And thanks to strong characters and a keen way with a comic line the show is a gem, thanks to no skimping on the craft or the attention to detail, even if the audience is under five foot.

"It is important never to talk down to children," says Craig.

"You can't get away with that at all. And I like to add a bit of a dark edge to some of my shows. My children grew up with Roald Dahl and they still love him for that dark side to his stories.

"I try out my ideas on my own children, who are 7 and 10, and they still come to the shows sometimes. It is fantastic actually, because sometimes I catch their eye and they are laughing as hard as anyone else in the audience, even though they have seen the show loads of times.

"I get suggestions from kids in the audience too. Some don't make much sense but one lad came up to me after a show and said when are you going to do a show about dinosaurs?

"It was such fantastic idea, so I do that now too."

3pm start.