FOLLOWING the success of her television drama series Ring Games in 2019, actress, playwright and broadcaster Dahlia Harris is returning to the small screen with another production.

Like Ring Games, and before that Thicker Than Water, Harris is again adapting one of her stage productions to bring local content to television audiences. This time it is Love and Dancehall, based on her play The Case of the Ex which ran on the local theatre scene late last year into early this year and which won Harris another Actor Boy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role in April.

Love and Dancehall, which hits the screens of Television Jamaica in November, revolves around the exploits of DJ Cheetah played by Odaine Clarke, who is a young reggae producer struggling to reclaim his popularity in the music industry. Cheetah can’t separate business from pleasure and his failure to find that one hit song is consistently compounded by his failure to look beyond a female artiste’s physical assets in order to identify real talent. His latest love Dymond (Shantol Jackson) has her sights set on becoming a global star. Cheetah keeps ignoring her talent but her love for him prevents her from cutting ties and moving on.

Things heat up when a local media house launches a lucrative national song competition. Cheetah seizes the opportunity to bring in his ex, DJ Cyattie (a role reprised by Harris) to help him win that big ‘buss’. However, Cyattie has other objectives.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer Harris noted that this production will take on a miniseries format, only running for three episodes. This she noted was also a consequence of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the lockdown on theatre and the restrictions on filming, we had to find a way to continue to provide content for both theatregoers and television viewers. We conceptualised a format that would facilitate a very small cast and crew, limited locations and shorter periods for filming. Usually for a 12-13-episode series you have look at multiple locations, you have to bring in extras, you have to ensure that it looks a certain way in terms of cinematography…things look a little bit more interesting. So what we have done is kept the story really tight and entertaining; strict COVID-19 protocols were also observed regarding the wearing of masks and sanitisation during the shoot,” Harris explained.

She added Love and Dancehall is the first in a series of these three-episode television events which she will be penning for the local small screen.

“The short format allows us to be more productive in terms of churning out more stories, so viewers can look forward to more of these. So in truth, the restrictions have allowed us the opportunity to do more,” she continued.

Harris is pleased with the small cast which has been assembled to bring the story to life on the television screen. She noted that Clarke and Jackson were chosen because of their acting acumen and what they could bring to the characters.

“Odaine Clarke has been featured on the television series Real Friends as well as a number of shorts and music videos. I chose him because of his experience on camera and [because he] also possesses a kind of vulnerability as an actor — and we really wanted him to bring out that human side of this character. Cheetah’s name speaks for itself but we want to show why he is like that and why he does the things he does. We’re not trying to hate him, but instead understand who he is. As for Shantol, that was really a no-brainer. In terms of film, I would say she is one of the most successful young actresses out of Jamaica in recent times. She has been seen on television in Real Friends and starred in films such as Sprinter and Idris Elba’s Yardie. She is also a big part of my team at DMH Productions and so has appeared in a number of my stage productions,” said Harris