John Anderson Castello (1802,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

– 1877,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

) was a Guyanese child actor and journalist who established his reputation in

, whither he moved as a teenager. Following

Master Betty William Henry West Betty (13 September 1791 in Shrewsbury24 August 1874 in London) was a popular child actor of the early nineteenth century, known as "the Young Quintus Roscius Gallus, Roscius." Family William Henry West Betty was born on 13 ...

, known as "the Young Roscius", Castello was called "the West Indian Roscius". He performed in

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

in October 1816 at the age of thirteen. Castello remained popular with Jamaican theatre-goers until 1818, when he reached puberty and his voice broke.

Theatrical career

William Adamson William Adamson (2 April 1863 – 23 February 1936) was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. He was Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1917 to 1921 and was Secretary of State for Scotland in ...

, who managed his own theatre company had arrived from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, produced

John Home Rev John Home (2 September 1722 – 4 September 1808) was a Scottish minister, soldier and author. His play '' Douglas'' was a standard Scottish school text until the Second World War, but his work is now largely neglected. In 1783, he was ...

's '' Douglas or the Noble Shepherd'' and cast Castello in the role of the Young Norval. When he performed the role of Lothair in

Matthew Gregory Lewis Matthew Gregory Lewis (9 July 1775 – 16 May 1818) was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel ' ...

' '' Adelgitha'', the author – who was in the audience – complained about the performance. With the death of Adamson that year, his replacement, Mr Burnett refused to pay him the same rate as adult members of the cast and his last performance with Burnett's company took place in December 1818. In July 1919, he appeared at the Pavilion Theatre,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the role of Caleb Quotem in George Colman's play ''The Wags of Windsor''. However no accounts of further theatrical performance exist until he resurfaced in Kingston Theatre, Jamaica in July 1828 where he delivered

George Alexander Stevens George Alexander Stevens (1710 – 6 September 1780) was an English actor, playwright, poet, composer and songwriter. He was born in the parish of St. Andrews, in Holborn, a neighbourhood of London. After spending many years as a travelling ...

's comic monologue ''The Lecture on Heads''. In 1829, he joined the English Company and continued to perform in Kingston.

Journalist career

In 1836, he bought the ''

Falmouth Post The ''Falmouth Post'' was newspaper established in 1834 Falmouth, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica to promote the full freedom for the enslaved Africans who had been obliged to work unpaid as "Apprentices" by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slav ...

'' which he then published and edited as weekly newspaper up until his death in 1877.

References

1802 births 1877 deaths British Guiana people 19th-century Jamaican people 19th-century Guyanese actors {{Guyana-bio-stub