scene-painter, was one of Melbourne’s earliest practising scenic artists. The Port Phillip Herald of 13 January 1843 praised his scenery for George Buckingham’s production of All for Love , then playing at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Melbourne, noting that 'the scenery by Mr Lightwood…must be seen to be appreciated—it has been pronounced by judges to be as good as Stanfield’s at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden’. Later he painted the scenery for another Buckingham production, The Flying Dutchman . The Port Phillip Herald of 16 June 1843 recorded his work on the scenery for The Revenge and noted a 'a splendid new act drop to be exhibited on nine occasions during the evening’. The Revenge was produced by Mr Capper, the mechanist.
When the Theatre Royal re-opened in July 1844 the Port Phillip Herald of 26 July noted that Lightwood had painted 'a new act drop, proscenium and scenery’. It is likely that he also worked on other plays, such as Hofer: The Tell of the Tyrol , The Fate of Frankenstein , The Mistletoe Bough , Heart of Mid-Lothian and Rob Roy . Few other theatrical performances took place in Melbourne in 1844 and Lightwood was not identified as having painted the scenery for any of them. A John Lightwood, however, was mentioned in the Port Phillip Herald of 18 January 1845 (regarding distribution of various estates) and was still active in 1851 when the Melbourne Directory listed him as an artist of Stephen Street, Melbourne.
- Writers:
- Maslen, Joan
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
