Patra: From dancehall ‘It’ girl to Hit Girl in ‘Get Millie Black’

Back in the day, she was the trendsetting dancehall ‘It’ girl who swiftly rose through the ranks to become the tantalising ‘Queen of the Pack’. In the Channel 4/HBO mini-series, Get Millie Black, Patra stars as Hit Girl, the powerful owner of a bustling go-go club, located in the heart of downtown Kingston.

“Tonight is my first time seeing it, and I’m excited. Honestly, I’ve seen a little bit when I was doing the voiceovers, but I was too scared to watch everything,” a clearly excited Patra told The Sunday Gleaner at the recent première in Kingston.

Get Millie Black is a five-part television detective series created by Booker Prize-winning author, Marlon James, and developed by Motive Pictures. Set mainly in Jamaica, and with a predominantly Jamaican cast, it stars Tamara Lawrance as Millie Black, an ex-Scotland Yard detective who returns home to Jamaica, joins the police force and gets wrapped up in a missing person case that leads her into a complex and alluring drama. In her work, Hit Girl is one of the many colourful characters whom Millie meets.

“Hit Girl is the owner of a night club called Hot Pinky, and so I am in control of a number of dancers and stuff,” explained Patra, who made her name as Lady Patra, and effectively ruled the dancehall in the ‘90s.

Patra shared that she feels a close affinity with the character and emphasised that it was a beautiful experience to be among professional actors, “like my boy Johnny … and not to mention the masterful writing of Marlon James”.

“Hit Girl is somebody like me really in many ways … I was surprised when I was reading the script. She is very caring and very serious. She’s like a mother figure, but very sensual and very dangerous at the same time ... but always in the best interest of others. All the characters have to come to me for information, so the nightclub that I run has a lot of excitement,” Patra, whose real name is Dorothy Smith, said.

The platinum-selling pop, reggae and dancehall artiste has been offered many roles prior to this, “but back in the days [she] wasn’t interested in doing those things”. This chapter in her life unfolded when well-known producer and actress, Nadean Rawlins, found her and told her that Marlon James was looking for “somebody like her” to fit a particular role in a film. They had a script that they wanted her to read.

“But because I have a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t immediately look at the script. But when I decided to take a look, I realise that I was reading for Hit Girl and she was one of the main characters in the film. So I did my audition, and afterwards, Nadean helped me with the acting part, and they sent someone from England to brush me up a little bit. And their Hit Girl was born,” she said.

Patra, who described herself as “hyperactive and OCD”, commended Marlon James for believing in her and guiding her on set, especially during a particularly bloody scene, which was an “Ugh!” moment for her.

“Because I am hyperactive, it was hard for me to sit in the trailer for several hours, but I walked around. And when I start getting into character, it was kinda funny, especially when certain things hit me when I’m acting with another actor. The first cut is never good because I’m like … ‘What the … !’ I’m always shocked by it. Marlon James was there on set helping with the make-up, even in a scene when I had to get very bloody. That was a horrible part for me. It had to look like real blood, and everything was stained up on me, and Marlon was just throwing more,” she recalled.

Musically, the Queen of the Pack has finished up her album and is ready to come back and do major things. She had opened her restaurant, Château Gourmet Jerk Centre, in Stony Hill, but closed it down, with plans to relocate next year, when she will also start her cooking show.

“I’ve gone through so much, but I own back [some amount] of my masters (original recordings) because, you know, that was a big thing for me. Shaggy even executively produced a song for me … they asked me to do something, so I did. But my stuff is totally independent. My album is set and structured and is coming out right after the movie,” Patra said triumphantly.

She added, “The most beautiful thing about it is that I am in control now because I have gone through so much stress and depression pertaining to how I was treated back then, but I am in a beautiful place now. I realise that sometimes you have to go through a lot in order to know how to be strong, just like many of the prophets in the Bible.”

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com