dynasty, Giuseppe left Perry and his daughter and moved with Brooker and his two sons to Little Russell Street, High Holborn. Giuseppe, who often displayed eccentric and obsessive behaviour, was a strict disciplinarian and often beat his children for disobeying his orders. A fascination with death consumed his later life; he would feign death in front of his children, so as to gauge their reactions, and he insisted on his eldest daughter, Mary, decapitating him after his death because of his fear of being buried alive, a task which earned her £5 extra in her inheritance. Early years at Sadler's Wells and Drury Lane From the age of two, Grimaldi was taught to act the characters in the harlequinade by his father. Although he and his younger brother John Baptiste both displayed acting talent, Joseph was groomed for the London stage. He made his stage debut at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in late 1780, when Giuseppe took him on stage for his "first bow and first tumble". On 16 April 1781, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the manager of Drury Lane, cast both Giuseppe and Grimaldi in the pantomime The Wizard of the Silver Rocks; or, Harlequin's Release. Sheridan employed dozens of children, including Grimaldi, as extras at Drury Lane. On Boxing Day 1781, Grimaldi took the part of Little Clown in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding at Drury Lane. It was a success for him personally, and the pantomime enjoyed an extended run until March 1782. As a result of his performance, he received further work offers from the management and became an established juvenile performer at Drury Lane. At the same time, he was a prolific performer at Sadler's Wells where he played a host of minor roles, including monkeys, imps, fairies and demons. The Drury Lane season ran every year from September to late spring, with Sadler's Wells playing from 15 April to the second week in October. Though the two theatres staged similar productions, they appealed to different audiences: Drury Lane to the wealthy classes of society and Sadler's Wells to the boisterous working class. Although Grimaldi's stage career was flourishing, Giuseppe enrolled him at Mr Ford's Academy, a boarding school in Putney, which educated the children of theatrical performers. Although Grimaldi struggled with reading and writing, he showed a talent for art, as evidenced by some of his drawings that survive in the