The Restless Gentlemen
tidy Sums and Greater things
Contact
- Tunbridge Wells, UK
Journey
The Restless Gentlemen are four gentry of the Victorian era, out of their time, experimenting to find the correct melody, played at the perfect volume, to kick start their time machine to get them home.
Shortly after the Martian invasion of old London town in 1883, Richard Melancholia led a group of fellow scientists on a daring mission to investigate the alien technologies left behind, buried deep in the banks near Rotherhithe. Working painstakingly, and in secrecy from Government and outside influence, the scientists were able to rebuild the technology and build a machine capable of time-travel, enabled through musical stimulation. The scientists, excited by their discovery, soon began writing melodies designed to fully realise the potential of their discovery and named themselves The Restless Gentlemen in honour of their noble pursuits which could change the world.
Sadly, their music would soon be their downfall.
One blustery evening, and after just the right amount of ale at the local cake shop, The Restless Gentlemen set about their most ambitious effort to travel far into the future. In a moment that would change their futures forever, Mitch Balalaika boldly struck a chord that set the time machine into a frenzy, amplified by the stormy conditions and lightning crackling in the air above them, throwing the Restless Gentlemen 130 years into the future. Worse still, the machine that had propelled them and their fates forward into today was damaged during the transition, leaving the Restless Gentlemen unable to return back to their time and space, marooned in a strange world which has progressed far beyond their comprehension.
The Restless Gentlemen now meet regularly, pooling their musical and scientific talents in an effort to try and find the ideal melody, blending old-fashioned songcraft of love won and lost with new fangled technologies. Regular sharing of their music publicly across the South East of England has increased their confidence of finding the right melody, as the acoustics in public performances have been found to be the closest to those which led them to these modern times.
Events
Gentlemen
Richard Melancholia
Richard blames himself for the tragic events which have led the Restless Gentlemen to this world, and remains in a permanent state of melancholy, unable to reconcile the life he once had with the modern world he now finds himself in. Leaving behind his family and a successful career at the Royal Academy, he sits up late into every evening mourning his losses through prose, insisting on using the Restless Gentlemen’s melodies as a cathartic release to his dream to return back to his loved ones. Richard is hiding in the house of a crazy seamstress called Beryl who insists on darning his socks every evening.
Gavin Timpani-Smith
Gavin is the primary engineer who created the time-machine and can therefore be blamed almost exclusively for getting them into this mess. Gavin has infiltrated an engineering firm in Surrey in order to get his hands on the latest technology available, hoping to develop his skills and repair the time-machine and return the Restless Gentlemen home. Ever hopeful of rebuilding the amazing machine that brought them to the modern world, he plays drums to enable Mitch and Steve maintain perfect time while searching for the elusive melody which will trigger the time-machine. Gavin lives a quiet life on a barge in the Thames.
Mitch Balalaika
Mitch has never fully reconciled that his chord is the reason the Restless Gentlemen have entered the modern world and to this end blames a combination of fate and Gavin for the whole mess they’re in. Mitch is nervous of returning to the Victorian age where he led a hedonistic life of ale, teacakes, and debauchery that have left him indebted to the notorious Hardwood brothers in Whitechapel. Mitch practices his guitar every evening in the hope of finding the chord that will send them home; he has also taken a mistress who pretends to be interested in his music, but secretly loves Richard.
Steve Subsonic
Steve originally came from the muddy banks of Ohio River, working hard to establish himself in the scientific field before coming to the United Kingdom, seeking scientists that shared his passion for musicology and extra-terrestrial time-travel. As luck would have it, having accidently stumbled across Richard and his work while reading an advert in the Times seeking an individual with his abilities, Steve felt emboldened to cross the Atlantic and work collaboratively with Richard. Sadly the time-travel experience has left Steve convinced that it still is the 19th Century. Having acquired a bass in a bar-room brawl he has managed to master the instrument while also remaining a formidable pugilist, and has taken a wife who is unable to convince him what year it is, but remains loyal to his musical prowess.
