19:15, Fri 30th October – Tue 3rd November 2026 at Adelphi Theatre
10:00, Fri 6th – Tue 10th November 2026 at Adelphi Theatre
19:45, Fri 13th – Tue 17th November 2026 at Adelphi Theatre
Michaelmas Week 3 to Week 6

Nathan the Wise is a play published by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. Its performance was forbidden by the church during Lessing's lifetime; it was first performed in 1783 in Berlin. In 1922 it was adapted into a silent film of the same title.
Set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, it describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin, and the Templar bridge their gaps between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.