Gathering up the threads of experience from Watford’s diverse community has been the painstaking goal of the many individuals involved in the Palace Theatre’s centenary project, Milestones. This original piece, designed to mark the theatre’s 100th birthday, encompasses dance, drama and music, bringing together stories of personal milestones, achievements and obstacles overcome in celebration of who we are and the way we live together.

Director Dinos Aristidou from Brighton specialises in staging large-scale community productions. He has created performance works on the international theatre festival circuit, for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2001, a piece for the Millennium Dome and he recently worked with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

He has been involved with the Milestones project since December last year.

“I came in soon after the whole thing was envisaged and have worked on the creative aspect of shaping it,” says Dinos. “We started off with taster sessions trying out different art forms. A lot of the time was spent visiting groups and just talking, laughing and sharing stories.

“They were really inspirational stories; both very varied, but they also had things in common. We also looked at how a group is made up of people from different backgrounds.”

To shape the story, the team hit upon the theme of a giant quilt, being sewn together by six women who meet up at a community craft group. Since there are knitting and craft clubs in Watford, this image is particularly apt.

“The creative team came up with the shape of the piece and the stories are the fabric and threads. Each panel tells a different story as it is woven into a giant quilt that represents the community.

“Sewing and fabric came up a lot in the lives of people from the Afro-Caribbean and African community, in Indian tales and also from other communities in Watford.”

During the show, there will contributions from more than 60 peformers, with six central characters linking the individual sections, which comprise drama, dance and music. Dinos tells me there were many more people who “were involved and generously gave their stories but didn’t want to act. They were generous with their own milestones and memories – some of which were upsetting because you’re dealing with people’s suffering and journeys, but also were about their celebrations and a whole range of human experience.”

Dinos confesses he was impressed by the range of ideas coming forward.

“I didn’t realise the diversity of Watford, but once I had heard all the different stories, it was very clear they were all individual but they had a shared humanity to them. The contributors were positive about their community and living in Watford.

“They’re part of the same community and have the same thoughts, feelings and aspirations for the future.”

Milestones is at Watford Palace Theatre on Friday, November 14 and Saturday, November 15 at 8pm with a matinee on Saturday at 3pm.Tickets: 01923 225671, www.milestonesproject.co.uk