At least the rain stayed off for the actual performance on press night. I dread to imagine what the previous two rainy evenings must have been like at this outdoor production, especially for the literally hundreds of volunteer performers who lurk in the undergrowth in ones and twos as the audience files in. We are greeted by them in a variety of ethnic styles; we see them engaging in rituals, or playing musical instruments, or performing domestic tasks (I saw a woman halfway up a tree, ironing; another hoovering damp leaves), or… in one instance I heard reported but did not see… more intimate solitary practices. Some, clad in white, formally intone phrases such as “We are glad you are here” or “Today is the day”. Doing all this when sodden must be truly thankless.

Eventually we passed into the central… well, the central quagmire, by now, with duckboards in some cases muddier than the surrounding ground. A number of structures – domes, marquees, podia, climbing frames – were dotted around with, once again, assorted performances taking place. (Within a short time, though, the most crowded tents were the bars.) So far, so nondescript: all was generally suggestive of the concept behind this Wildworks/World Stages London production, that the peoples of the world were once again coming together in one place, but nothing seemed to be advancing any kind of dramatic or eventful agenda. It was rather like one of the damper Glastonburys, only without the principal musical bill, just the sideshows. No urgency, no focus.

Also no seating. By now, after queuing for 45 minutes for a late start, my gammy knee was threatening to buckle under me. Having been moved on from my first perch and refused entry to the one small designated seating area by “security guards”, I finally found a bench near the exit gate, which latter vicinity shortly proved too tempting, so that I slunk off around the midway point of the proceedings (although the term “proceedings” dignifies matters somewhat). No doubt I missed a grand, universal, affirmative climax, and it is faith in this assumption that informs my review rating. However, on the strength of what I actually did see, I doubt I have ever encountered such mammoth organisation deployed to such little impact. I was not glad I was there.

Written for the Financial Times.