For several years, Kean's career had little chances to grow. But in 1814, the committee of Drury Lane Theatre, which was about to go bankrupt, decided to give Kean a chance among the "experiments" they were making to gain more popularity. When the hope of his first appearance in London got higher, he was so nervous that he exclaimed, "If I succeed I shall go mad." As he was unable to pay for his elder son's medical treatment for some time, his son died the day after Kean signed the three-year Drury Lane contract.