Live performance
and events
Theatre, poetry, spoken word, music and interdisciplinary performance. Concept development, team coordination, rehearsal planning, venue liaison, technical preparation, event delivery and touring logistics.
Live performance. Media. Cultural storytelling.
Give your
story a stage.
A Creative Engine for the Creative Mind
Make an enquiry Explore our projectsFrom the founder’s performance archive
Market Theatre · Supplied 2019 footage
Market Theatre · Supplied 2019 footage
Independent South African production house
We produce work
that speaks.
Buwa Fela Productions develops original African work and professional production services across live performance, media and cultural enterprise.
Download company profile PDF · 6 pagesBuwa Fela / A creative journey in 25 seconds
01 / AboutArt for Social Transformation
An African
production house.
We bring artistic imagination and the practical work of production into the same space.
Based in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, Buwa Fela Productions (Pty) Ltd develops original work and offers production services to artists, cultural institutions, corporate clients and commissioning partners.
Our creative direction connects theatre, poetry, music, screen storytelling and publishing. We assemble teams around each project, respecting artistic agency, authorship and creative ownership.
Our purpose
To develop and produce African creative content, creating professional opportunities for artists through creative development, disciplined production management and purposeful collaboration.
CompanyBuwa Fela Productions (Pty) Ltd
Registration2025/328183/07
Based inJohannesburg, South Africa
02 / What we doServices agreed per commission
Creative vision.
Considered production.
Project-specific creative and technical teams, matched to the scope, budget and requirements of the work.
Live performance
Media and
audiovisual production
Documentary development, filmed performance, interviews, artist profiles, promotional video and digital cultural programming. Screen and multimedia formats that extend the reach of cultural work.
Creative development
and artistic direction
Creative consultation, dramaturgical and narrative development, artistic programming, project packaging and production planning, with respect for the artist’s decisions and authorship.
Publishing and
intellectual property
Literary and cultural content for print, live presentation, recording, licensing and digital distribution. Ownership, permissions and revenue sharing are agreed for each project.
Artist collaboration
and production management
Project-based representation, commissioned engagements, budgeting, schedules, stakeholder coordination and reporting. Funding research may support an agreed project; grant funding is never assumed.
How we work
- 01Brief & consultation
- 02Scope & agreement
- 03Development & delivery
- 04Reporting & closure
03 / Creative projectsPerformance and development
Selected work
and creative directions.
The director’s artistic practice and the wider Buwa Fela development programme. Each project’s status is identified below.
Archive · Past event
Springboard project · Archive
Homeless at Home
Our springboard project: an encounter between poetry and live music, shaped by love, longing and uncertainty.
Historical work in the creative journey behind Buwa Fela. The original poster is presented as part of that archive.
Looking ahead · Aspiration
A future Soweto Theatre presentation is an aspiration. No booking or presentation dates are announced here.
MINA NAWE / REHEARSAL ARCHIVE
Inside the work.
To play this film, open the preview from the complete download package.
Previously presented founder work
The Last Language
Poetry, music, movement and theatre exploring identity, disability, memory and relationships.
The Market Theatre Foundation’s 2024/25 annual report records the presentation at the Mannie Manim Theatre on 14 March 2025, crediting Mak Manaka as writer, producer and performer.
This presentation predates the commercial company’s incorporation and is identified as Mak Manaka’s individual production history.
The Last Letter and schools access proposal
2026 proposal · delivery unverified
The February 2026 proposal describes a later production and schools programme, with accessible performances, transport, learner support and workshops. The target of 1,500 learners from six schools is a planned target.
The proposed May 2026 run, sponsorship and delivery outcomes are unverified in the profile. These dates are not an upcoming-event announcement.
To play this film, open the preview from the complete download package.
Director’s literary and publishing practiceTranslating
Translating
the Protea
A reel from the launch of Translating the Protea, presented here as part of Mak Manaka’s literary and publishing practice.
An archive of the director’s work, rather than a new or automatically attributed company production credit.
LIVE MUSIC / POETRY / HERITAGE
SAKHILE
The Sound of Home
Development and proposal stageA live cultural concept around a proposed collaboration between Mak Manaka and Khaya Mahlangu, connecting South African jazz memory with contemporary expression and intergenerational exchange.
No completed company production is claimed.
LIVE POETRY / MUSIC / VISUAL ART
BLACK IN
THE BLUES
Proposed performance conceptPoetry, an instrumental ensemble and visual art exploring memory, survival and contemporary African experience through the language of the blues.
No confirmed presentation dates or delivery are claimed.
Programme concepts
Cultural and literary programming
BUWA FELA Multilingual Poetry Festival
BUWA Poetry Express
Responsible entities, funding, rights and delivery agreements must be established per initiative. These are not completed company credits.
Core project status follows the company profile reviewed on 13 October 2026. Archive media, Homeless at Home context and the Soweto Theatre aspiration were supplied by Mak Manaka for this website. Read the full profile
04 / LeadershipMaakomele Rethabile Manaka
Mak Manaka
Founder · Managing Director
Creative Director · Producer
A poet and cultural producer whose practice is rooted in Black Consciousness and art for social transformation.
Born in Soweto and based in Johannesburg, Mak is the son of playwright and theatre director Matsemela Manaka and dancer and choreographer Nomsa Kupi Manaka. His work considers Black identity, cultural inheritance, disability, relationships and personal memory.
He holds a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. As Managing Director, he leads Buwa Fela’s creative direction, project development and relationships with artists and commissioning partners.
“Art for Social Transformation”Mak Manaka’s guiding creative principle
Selected publications and recording
A practice rooted
in the word.
- If OnlyPoetry · 2003
- In TimePoetry · 2009
- Flowers of a Broken SmilePoetry · 2016
- Oncoming TrafficPoetry · 2018
- Word Sound PowerDub-poetry album
These publications, recording and personal performance history are Mak Manaka’s individual artistic credentials. They do not automatically become company production credits.
On stage and in the archive.
Personal performance history and film context supplied for Mak Manaka’s profile. Films play on request with their original audio.
To play this film, open the preview from the complete download package.
A film exploring theatre, artists and aspirations around Soweto Theatre, included as context for Mak Manaka’s artistic practice.
Supplied archive film. Its inclusion does not claim a Buwa Fela Productions film credit.
To play this film, open the preview from the complete download package.
05 / The research projectSeparate entities · Defined responsibilities
Separate non-profit companyBuwa Fela
Buwa Fela
Research Project NPC
Registration 2025/012134/08
A distinct organisation with a proposed focus on research, cultural heritage, creative education and public cultural access.
The NPC has its own governance responsibilities. Its intended work includes literary heritage, knowledge preservation and community-facing cultural programmes.
Registration status in the profile
NPO registration is intended, not completed. No SARS PBO approval, tax exemption or section 18A status is claimed.
COMMERCIAL COMPANY
Buwa Fela Productions (Pty) Ltd
Original creative work, commissioned productions, professional services and cultural enterprise.
NON-PROFIT COMPANY
Buwa Fela Research Project NPC
Proposed research, heritage, education and community access programmes serving its own purposes.
A responsible
collaboration model.
Where their purposes align, the organisations may collaborate through defined project agreements. NPC resources must serve its objects; they are not an automatic source of company funding.
The safeguards describe a proposed framework. The profile does not claim that these controls have already been implemented.
01Purpose and written agreement
A genuine project purpose, defined deliverables, a written service agreement and reasonable, evidenced pricing.
02Interests and approval
Disclosure of related interests, recusal where required and a recorded decision by directors entitled to approve the arrangement.
03Funder and procurement conditions
Compliance with procurement rules and funder restrictions, including consent where required before appointing a related supplier.
04Separate records and rights
Separate entity accounts, budgets and records, with clear treatment of assets, intellectual property, reporting and payment for verified work.
06 / Partnerships and commissionsLet’s begin with a conversation
Give your
story a stage.
For original work, commissioned productions, creative development and project collaboration.
Tell us about your audience, format, location, dates, budget range and accessibility requirements.
EMAIL BUWA FELAbuwafelapros@gmail.com TELEPHONE+27 67 615 1434
Sophiatown, Johannesburg
South Africa 2092
Email and telephone links open your own apps.
This website does not collect or submit enquiries.