The film opens in Mr Figg’s barbershop in
Stamford Hill, in which he discusses his family life with his customers. Upon his arrival home, however, it is revealed that he is a bachelor and his stories of family life are inventions he concocts because he believes they are what his customers want to hear. In fact, he lives on his own in a flat in
Stepney and on Friday nights he lights the
Shabbat candles before his mute friend Dober comes to visit, and they spend the evening eating and playing chess. As he sits with Dober, Mr Figg discusses his sadness about not having had a family and subsequently decides to propose to Mrs Werner, a widowed neighbour with two children. Leaving Dober in the flat, he visits her in the hope of doing so. However, as he sits in her kitchen, he is not only surprised by her admitting that she does not follow Jewish tradition by lighting the candles, but is unsure how to respond to domestic conflicts that take place between her and her children, as her son noisily plays the drums in the front room and her daughter argues with her about being allowed to go out. Before he can get round to proposing, Mrs Werner mentions that she recently received an offer of marriage from the local butcher, only to laugh the idea off as preposterous, leading Mr Figg to abandon his plan and return to his flat. The film ends with Mr Figg back in his barbershop, chatting to a customer and relating the story of Mrs Werner’s son playing the drums as if it is a story about his own, fictional, family. ==Cast==