John Anderson Castello (1802,

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

-1877,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) 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 Roscius." Family Both of William's parents were very wealthy due to inheritance ...

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

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...

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 politician. He was Leader of the Labour Party from 1917 to 1921 and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and during 1929–1931 in the f ...

, who managed his own theatre company had arrived from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, produced

John Home Rev John Home FRSE (13 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 wa ...

's '' Douglas or the Noble Shepherd'' and cast Castello in the role of the Young Norval. When he performed the role of Lothair in "Monk" Lewis' '' 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 City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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 a ...

'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. It was boug ...

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

References

1802 births 1877 deaths 19th century Guyanese actors {{Guyana-bio-stub