The Army is deploying a formidable new weapon this summer in the battle to win hearts and minds on the home front - musical theatre.

Just before lunchtime yesterday, the Army's commander for Scotland strode on to the stage of a half-full university lecture hall and gave a rousing address before the military's first adventure on the Edinburgh Fringe.

The Piper's Trail has cost £275,000 of the Army's money to produce and arrives in Edinburgh at the end of a six-week tour through Scotland, where it has been seen by more than 50,000 people.

It is intended to redress the negative publicity surrounding the Army's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and attempts to do this through the shamelessly cheesy tale of an angry young man from the Shetlands who discovers self-respect and a sense of purpose after meeting a mysterious demobbed bagpiper.

The production has been criticised as propaganda in some quarters, but Brigadier David Allfrey explained to his audience of pensioners, children and their parents yesterday that the musical's main purpose was to provide enjoyable family entertainment.

Along with the bagpipes and folk dancing, however, there is also “a serious underlying message about our values”.

“Soldiers are expected on operations to make serious and quite difficult calculations. They have to know what their moral position is and so we teach them six values: courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment.”

The Fringe is well used to military subject matter. Throughout the festival, thousands of tourists flock to see the massed pipers of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo parading in front of Edinburgh Castle.

This year the Traverse Theatre is staging Deep Cut, a play about the unexplained deaths of several soldiers at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey.

Two years ago the National Theatre of Scotland's play Black Watch was the most talked-about show in town, taking theatregoers into the heart of the Iraq conflict through the eyes of a tightly bonded group of soldiers. The play went on to a sell-out world tour and glittering reviews. The Piper's Trail is not intended to compete with any of those productions, Brigadier Allfrey said after the performance.

“The Army isn't a West End production company. Nor is the play about recruiting. If people think we are a good profession, they will join us. This is about making people understand why we have an army and what it is.

“I think society is very well disposed to the Army, but I'm not sure that we have got quite the depth of understanding that we once had. That's really what The Piper's Trail has been about. I don't think it is propaganda, but I welcome the debate. Propaganda, for me, has a dark purpose to it. This is an important national institution having a conversation with the society from which it draws.”

The show has already been seen at churches and civic receptions during its Scottish tour and Brigadier Allfrey hopes it could go on to have a role in schools. Looking ahead to next year, he hopes to bring a second, slicker production to the Fringe, building on the experience of this year's run.

Audiences have been split over the message behind the production. John Fanning, a retired electrician aged 66, who saw it yesterday, said: “It's great for them to be doing things that project them into the community. I thought the show was excellent, The presentation was snappy and thoroughly enjoyable, just how you would expect the Army to do it, and I mean that as a compliment.”

Alan Hawkins, 66, a volunteer and former Territorial Army soldier who saw the play earlier in the week, branded it as “slick advertising”. He said: “They are painting a picture that they want gullible young people to see. They are not showing how many bodies are being brought back each week from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Chris Mitchell, 22, an actor with a friend in the production, said that it preached and “was definitely trying to impose quite a few opinions”.

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