Mother Courage @ The Tron

In a time when the arts are under threat, and political unrest is both fashionable and necessary, Birds of Paradise intelligently revive Brecht's celebrated tale of endless war and capitalism. Astutely linking the military and financial machines  – Courage may be the heroine, but she is a nasty war profiteer  – Brecht's critique of hierarchy and heroism covers the intimate connections between the horror of war, the hypocrisy of the church, the heartlessness of the market and the hegemony of the state.

Unfortunately, and despite the powerful script, BoP's production feels competent and flat, rather than gripping and imaginative. Certainly, Brecht's writing is concise, slicing open the absurdities of various moral justifications and contradictions at the heart of Courage's love for lucre and family: yet Brecht's style was about more than the words, and his episodic narrative needs a directorial push to overcome the alienation between audience and performer. Alison Peebles, one of Scotland's finest actors, is solid rather than superb: equally Gary Robson impresses, but fails to ignite the stage as he did as Ian Drury in Raspberry.

While the script is transparent and cool enough to get across Brecht's political intentions and meditations, this Mother Courage is more of a relaxed reminder of a great work than a counter-blast to contemporary oppression.