The Barber of Stamford Hill

1962
Sound
64m

On the eve of his 50th birthday, lonely north London barber Mr Figg entertains the possibility of marriage

As Mr Figg natters to his clients, he fibs about his domestic life and imagines for himself a wife and children. After he lights the Sabbath candles one Friday evening, nostalgia for the warmth of his childhood home leads the Jewish bachelor to act on his fantasy. He takes a break from his regular chess evening with mute friend Dober to pursue the hand of his neighbour Mrs Werner, a busy and charming widow with two teenage children. Will family life meet Figg’s high expectations?

Adapted by Ronald Harwood from his 1960 television play, The Barber of Stamford Hill is a sensitive portrayal of adult loneliness and yearning for companionship. John Bennett plays Mr Figg with an uneasy charm that beautifully captures the character’s dissatisfaction with life as a single man, as well as his inflexibility. Dober’s silence makes him an intriguing audience for Figg’s incessant chatter, and Mrs Werner’s family life provides a prescient glimpse of how the teenagers of the 1960s were to break with long-held traditions.

Jewish Britain

Jewish life on screen: a century of insights and hidden histories

This collection uncovers insights, injustices and hidden histories across a century of Jewish life on British screens. It brings together documentary and first-person accounts of Jewish life in the UK, alongside historical dramas and artists’ work exploring the 20th century Jewish experience. The earliest surviving depictions of Jewish characters in British cinema offer a troubling insight into antisemitic representation, yet prejudice was later tackled head-on, with newsreels documenting the anti-fascist movement of the 1930s.

Drop in on joyous family weddings and community gatherings, and see the ways in which UK Jewry supported Jews young and old, and those fleeing persecution, in a selection of fascinating films from the 1900s to the 1980s.

This collection is generously supported by the Neil Kreitman Foundation, Shoresh Charitable Trust, John S Cohen Foundation, and Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation.