Joseph Grimaldi was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era. In the early 19th century, he expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade that formed part of British pantomimes, notably at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden theatres. He became so dominant on the London comic stage that the harlequinade role of Clown became known as "Joey", and both the nickname and Grimaldi's whiteface make-up design were, and still are, used by other types of clowns. Grimaldi originated catchphrases such as "Here we are again!", which continue to feature in modern pantomimes.

Charles Isaac Mungo Dibdin, or Charles Pitt or Charles Dibdin the younger, as he was professionally known, was an English dramatist, composer, writer and theatre proprietor. He was perhaps best known for his proprietorship of the Sadler's Wells Theatre and for the pantomimes and satirical farces that he wrote, and which were staged at many theatres across London. He employed Joseph Grimaldi at Sadler's Wells where Grimaldi appeared in many of his most successful pantomimes. He was the son of Charles Dibdin, brother of Thomas John Dibdin and godson of David Garrick.