Monday 19 May
- A new trailer is now available for Lili, a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company, iNK Stories and Alambic Productions
- 30-minute hands-on-sessions are available for Cannes festival attendees
The Royal Shakespeare Company, iNK Stories and Alambic Productions present the world premiere of Lili at this year’s Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival) from 13 May – 22 May. This is the first time a video game has been presented in a Cannes Festival competition.
The game has been selected as part of the prestigious Festival de Cannes Immersive Competition which selects immersive works that showcase the cutting edge of a new era in storytelling, challenging convention, embracing new technologies, and above all celebrating new artists as well as old. A new trailer for the neo-noir interactive thriller is also now available.
Lili, a unique and groundbreaking cross-industry collaboration, marks the RSC’s debut in the video game industry. The first chapter of the Macbeth inspired video game – featuring Cannes Best Actress Award Winner Zar Amir as Lady Macbeth (Lili) - is available to play until 22 May for journalists and festival attendees.
This exciting new collaboration builds on iNK’s acclaimed, genre-defining game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, which garnered over 20 top industry honours, including a BAFTA nomination, Meta’s Game of the Year award, the Indiecade Grand Jury Prize, and a special UNESCO award.
The RSC’s Director of Creative Innovation, Sarah Ellis said:
“As a storytelling medium, gaming today is what theatre has always been; a chance to explore worlds, inhabit story, and experience something at once personal and communal. This partnership, and the RSC’s first foray into the world of gaming, pushes the boundaries of storytelling. Lili is the first of its kind – a unique interaction between film, theatre and gaming which propels the creative vision of the RSC into the realms of interactive. We are delighted to have been chosen as part of the Immersive Competition at Cannes with its focus on selecting immersive works that showcase the cutting edge of a new era in storytelling that challenge convention and embrace new technologies – that’s at the heart of Lili”.
iNK Stories Co-Founder, Vassiliki Khonsari said:
“Lili transforms one of literature’s darkest and most compelling tales of gender ambition, fate, power, and morality into an immersive, interactive experience. By adapting Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece for contemporary audiences, it unlocks new depths of expression in storytelling, marking an inflection point for immersive games in an era of global techno-authoritarianism and gender oppression.”
The full game is now in development and slated to enter production in late 2025 and the final release will be accessible across gaming platforms.
-ENDS-
For further information contact Kate Evans (Head of Media Relations) kate.evans@rsc.org.uk or Armani Ur-Rub (Senior Publicist) armani.ur-rub@rsc.org.uk
BIOGRAPHY
Zar Amir is a French-Iranian actress, producer and director. She won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 for her performance in the film Holy Spider. In 2023, she co-directed the film Tatami, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Through her cinematic projects and her voice advocating for change for women in Iran, Zar was part of the BBC 100 Women 2022.
NOTES TO EDITOR
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America
This project was supported by equipment awarded as part of a Creative Research Capability grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Miranda Curtis CMG – Major Supporter of Creative Innovation
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s mission is to bring people together to experience stories that deepen our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world around us, and that bring joy. Shakespeare’s restless exploration of all of human nature is our inspiration and touchstone.
The Company’s roots lie in the bold vision of a local brewer, Edward Fordham Flower, who in 1879 established a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon with his son Charles. The RSC as we know it today was formed by Sir Peter Hall, whose ambition was to produce new plays alongside those of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We continue this today across our three permanent theatres in Stratford – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and The Other Place – and indeed online and around the globe. We believe everybody’s life can be enriched by culture and creativity. Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year. We have collaborated with generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future.
About iNK Stories:
iNK Stories is an award-winning independent development studio based in New York City, celebrated for its signature storytelling and its emotionally resonant, narratively rich gaming experiences that captivate audiences worldwide. Founded by trailblazers Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari, the studio brings a distinctive pedigree from blockbuster AAA game franchises and narrative immersive experiences to develop its acclaimed original titles. iNK Stories upcoming slate features an innovative convergence of cinema and gaming.
iNK Stories is an award-winning independent development studio based in New York City, celebrated for its signature storytelling and its emotionally resonant, narratively rich gaming experiences that captivate audiences worldwide. Founded by trailblazers Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari, the studio brings a distinctive pedigree from blockbuster AAA game franchises and narrative immersive experiences to develop its acclaimed original titles. iNK Stories upcoming slate features an innovative convergence of cinema and gaming.
About Alambic:
Founded in 2019 in Paris by Zar Amir, Alambic was designed as a flexible yet structured company, capable of hosting international projects with recognized expertise in Middle Eastern cultures. It stands out for its projects driven by a co-production approach that fosters exchanges between technical and artistic expertise. Among them, Holy Spider, was acclaimed for its reconstruction of 2000s Iran.
Founded in 2019 in Paris by Zar Amir, Alambic was designed as a flexible yet structured company, capable of hosting international projects with recognized expertise in Middle Eastern cultures. It stands out for its projects driven by a co-production approach that fosters exchanges between technical and artistic expertise. Among them, Holy Spider, was acclaimed for its reconstruction of 2000s Iran.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.www.artscouncil.org.uk
The Company’s roots lie in the bold vision of a local brewer, Edward Fordham Flower, who in 1879 established a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon with his son Charles. The RSC as we know it today was formed by Sir Peter Hall, whose ambition was to produce new plays alongside those of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
We continue this today across our three permanent theatres in Stratford – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and The Other Place – and indeed online and around the globe.
We believe everybody’s life can be enriched by culture and creativity. Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year. We have collaborated with generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future.