Töykänän aurinko: Yksinäytöksinen farssi

About this book

Töykänän aurinko by Lauri Haarla is a one-act farce written in the early 20th century, in the interwar period. The play satirizes small-town commerce and romantic intrigue, poking fun at “free competition,” price wars, and the lure of monopolies, all filtered through a lively tale of love, jealousy, and ambition in a village shop.

In the back room of shopkeeper Piinu’s store, his daughter Lumi (Zuleima) awaits a proposal from rival merchant Armas Toivorinta, while the shop boy Valte mangles grand ideas about “conjunctures” and juggles flirtations with the maid Iita. A fisherman’s entrance, quarrels, and a fainting spell spin misunderstandings into farce, especially when Sam. Newton (Samuli Neuvonen), freshly returned from America, bursts in preaching “trusts,” “business,” and a grand monopoly—cheekily proposing both a merger and marriage to Lumi to seal the deal. Tempted by visions of high prices and monopoly power, Piinu haggles, but Toivorinta coolly offers peace: end the price war, join forces, and let the father set the first hikes. Lumi affirms her choice of suitor, Newton slinks off angling for compensation, and Valte—abandoning lofty theory—pairs with Iita and vows to climb the commercial ladder, as the curtain falls on reconciled markets and matched hearts.