The first generation of urban writers authored the new Finnish plays that emerged in the 1930s. The works were characterized by nimble, witty dialog and a capacity to capture phenomena that were au courant. Because many authors had to make a living through other literary pursuits, the group became known as the “newspaper-men dramatists”, even though the group included many capable women. Droll Finnish works produced by the pens of numerous authors – Mika Waltari, Seere Salminen (Serp), Elsa Soini, Yrjö Soini (Agapetus) and Toivo Kauppinen (Topias) – were performed in Viipuri immediately after they premiered Helsinki. As Finland’s largest garrison town, Viipuri had ready audiences for military farces, but even larger crowds for the series of socially conscious love stories (The Niskavuori plays, Hulda of Juurakko) with which Hella Wuolijoki (under the male pseudonym Juhani Tervapää) raked in box office receipts. Wuolijoki’s Antidote was the last premiere before the Winter War broke out.