 In 1798 , Drury Lane suspended its tradition of staging an annual Christmas pantomime , which meant that Grimaldi had to seek work elsewhere during the festive period . The following year , with the help of his father @-@ in @-@ law , he joined the company at Sadler 's Wells , where he played roles in several Charles Dibdin plays . Grimaldi made a big impression , especially in Dibdin 's Easter 1800 pantomime , Peter Wilkins : or Harlequin in the Flying World , based on Robert <unk> 's 1751 novel . For this elaborate production , which featured two Clowns ( Dubois and Grimaldi ) , Dibdin introduced new costume designs . Clown 's costume was " garishly colourful ... patterned with large diamonds and circles , and fringed with tassels and ruffs , " instead of the tatty servant 's outfit that had been used for a century . The production was a hit , and the new costume design was copied by others in London . Despite Dubois ' " endless bag of tricks [ and ] vast array of skills " , his performance appeared artificial , in contrast to Grimaldi , who was better able to " draw the audience into believing the essential comedic qualities " of Clown . 
