Award-Winning Show Shot Bro Sells Out: Second Show Added At Baycourt This October

Due to overwhelming demand, a second performance of Rob Mokaraka’s acclaimed one-man show Shot Bro – Confessions of a Depressed Bullet has been added at Baycourt Community and Arts Centre.

The new performance on Wednesday 8 October gives more people the opportunity to experience this powerful work during Mental Health Awareness Week 2025.

Shot Bro is free to attend, but registration is essential via www.baycourt.co.nz/whats-on/

Tickets for the original Tuesday 7 October performance sold out within two days. Even after increasing capacity, the additional tickets were quickly snapped up.

“Public interest in Shot Bro was immediate – a clear reflection of how vital this kaupapa is to our community,” says Baycourt Manager Reena Snook. “It’s a privilege to host Rob and provide a safe space where stories that inspire healing and connection can be shared with Tauranga.”

Shot Bro draws from the lived experience of Rob Mokaraka (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tūhoe). In 2009, his battle with undiagnosed depression led to a moment of crisis in which he provoked police and was shot in the chest. That near-fatal event became the starting point of a journey grounded in healing, resilience, and manaakitanga.

Blending dark humour, raw honesty, and powerful storytelling, the show delves into topics and opens up kōrero about depression, suicide, and survival. It has toured extensively across Aotearoa, reaching audiences in marae, prisons, schools, and community venues – places where these conversations are most needed.

Following the performance, the audience is invited to stay for informal kōrero – a chance to reflect, ask questions, or simply share kai and a cuppa. Mental wellbeing resources will also be available to take home.

“Baycourt is proud to present Shot Bro as part of Mental Health Awareness Week this year,” says Snook. “It’s unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Rob’s courage in shining a light on mental wellbeing – with honesty, heart and humour – creates an opportunity for genuine engagement, compassion and collective healing within our community.”

EVENT DETAILS

Baycourt & Shot Bro present
Shot Bro – Confessions of a Depressed Bullet
Baycourt X Space, 38 Durham Street, Tauranga
Tuesday 7 October & Wednesday 8 October, 7:00pm
Free entry – register at www.baycourt.co.nz/whats-on/

ABOUT BAYCOURT COMMUNITY & ARTS CENTRE

Baycourt is an award-winning venue and the premier performing arts facility in Tauranga. It hosts local, regional, national and international performances and business events.

Located in the heart of the Tauranga city centre, the then pioneering and architecturally designed venue opened in 1983 to serve the cultural and social needs of a rapidly expanding city, as it continues to do today. It features three prominent spaces; the Addison Theatre, X Space and Terrace Rooms.

In 2019, Baycourt won Best Small Venue (under 1000 seats) and Supreme Venue of the Year at the annual Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand Awards which recognises the achievements and accomplishments of Aotearoa venues.

Baycourt was opened in April 1983 by now King Charles III and the late Princess Diana.

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