The cinematic version of a Broadway play featuring a Bermudian actress is now available for online viewing.

Tsilala Brock said she got to watch herself on the silver screen last month after her play, Suffs, was filmed for the US network PBS.

She and the rest of the cast saw the premiere of the musical, which retold the women’s suffragette movement in the US, at the same town hall where suffragette organisation efforts took place.

Ms Brock said: “There’s an extreme level of honour and humility to that reality.”

She added: “It felt so heartwarming. I got to see my friends who I respect and their solo performances and their close-ups.

“If I wasn’t out on stage then I probably never saw that close-up or what emotion or how they chose to take on that moment as an actor.

“There were a lot of moments like ‘wow, I’m finally getting to see the show we put on and be so extremely proud of the show we put on’.”

Suffs first opened in New York in April 2024 and is known for having an all female-presenting cast.

The show ran until the start of 2025 before it took on a national tour with a different cast.

Ms Brock, who left Bermuda at age 15, played Dudley Field Malone, the real-life Assistant Secretary of State to US president Woodrow Wilson in 1917.

Mr Malone was best known for publicly resigning from office to shift the president’s opinion on women’s suffrage and later representing suffragettes in court.

Ms Brock said filming took place during the original run of Suffs, with cameras set both in the audience and backstage.

She admitted the presence of extra crew and cameras made the space feel crowded, especially given the show’s large cast.

Ms Brock explained that the cameras were so large that there was never a full house because the equipment took up several seats.

She added that while filming was exciting, they tried not to focus on the cameras at the time so as to not break concentration.

It wasn’t until filming ended, she said, that the cast recognised the gravity of what had happened.

Ms Brock said: “I think we all squealed and thought ‘oh my God, we’re in a movie’, so there was an extra level of excitement but it was all in hindsight. While we were there on the filming days, there was just so much to think about.”

Ms Brock explained that many plays were now filmed and distributed to wider audiences to help those who may not live near a large theatre see the show.

She said: “The need to make our stories more accessible is a growing conversation in our industry because theatre really is special.

“You get to be with other people and share laughter or any other emotion together, but also storytelling is an art and sometimes theatre is not accessible.”

Ms Brock added: “I know that Shaina Taub who wrote it was really adamant that this history and the lessons that Suffs shares is really accessible to as many people as possible, especially children.”

Ms Brock said the show had a universal message of continuing the fight for justice — a message captured by the line “now is the next time”.

She explained that the line bookended the show and represented doing one’s part in the fight for equality, even if the end goal is not reached in their lifetime.

Ms Brock added: “It’s timeless because it’s a reminder that our work is always continuing, our work is not our own and that the next generation will always carry the torch and we have to remind them of that.

“If there’s any takeaway, it’s to take the work of this play and let it inspire you to find your own local organisation that’s doing work that you believe in.”

Suffs is now available at PBS Online.