Meet Midnight Feast: Champions of Radical Inclusion in Theatre
Kylie Heart at NIDA. Photo by Hannah Fulton.
When Second Echo Ensemble partnered with Sydney-based company Midnight Feast, it was more than a collaboration - it was the beginning of a vital artistic alliance. Both companies are committed to making original, professional performance with artists with and without disability. Together, they are leading a shift in how diverse theatre is made and who gets to make it.
Founded by director and advocate Kylie Heart, Midnight Feast was created to provide professional training and opportunities for artists with significant intellectual disabilities. Based at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Midnight Feast has been the theatre company in residence for the past seven years. Their presence has reshaped not just performances, but the institution itself.
“We’ve changed the way the building works,” says Kylie. “There are automatic doors now. The bathrooms are accessible. But we’ve also changed the culture. Our artists have been invited to join the alumni group, walk in the first-ever NIDA Mardi Gras float, and take part in the student council. We’re not just guests - we belong.”
Kylie explains that inclusion isn’t theoretical. It happens by turning up, creating work, and solving the problems that arise in real time. “Sometimes you don’t know there’s a step until someone with a wheelchair can’t enter. Then we work out how to fix it. That’s how inclusion happens. It is not abstract. It’s in the practice.”
NIDA CEO Liz Hughes with the artists of Midnight Feast in the Playhouse Theatre. Photo by Phil Erbacher.
Midnight Feast is committed to telling new stories - stories that haven’t traditionally been told from the stage. “For too long, people with intellectual disabilities were left out of the narrative,” Kylie says. “Or worse, they were cast as the outsider, the threat, the mystery in the shadows. We are changing that by making original work that reflects our artists’ lives, identities and dreams. When people see themselves on stage, they know they belong.”
Meeting Second Echo Ensemble was a turning point for Kylie. “It’s very isolating doing this kind of work. So when I met Kelly from SEE, it was like finding a lifeboat. Here was another company who understood what it takes, who has been doing this work for nearly 20 years. It’s not just professionally affirming, it’s personally fulfilling for our artists, and our communities. There’s real solidarity in this partnership.”
That solidarity is now at the heart of The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken & the Pony They Rode Upon. The production brings together artists from Midnight Feast and Second Echo Ensemble, showcasing a collaborative model built on shared values, professional mentoring, and deep creative respect.
“It’s a dream come true,” Kylie reflects. “We are building the scaffolding for what our industry could become. Inclusion should be standard. That means inclusive training, inclusive production, and real professional opportunities for artists with disability. Not occasionally. As the norm.”
For Second Echo Ensemble, this collaboration marks a significant new chapter. It shows what is possible when access is not a side note but a foundation. When process and product are held with equal care. When artists are trusted as makers, leaders and change agents.
Together, Midnight Feast and Second Echo Ensemble are not just making theatre. They are remaking the conditions of Australian performance. One rehearsal, one story, one partnership at a time.
Learn more about The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon and purchase tickets.
