We were promised something revolutionary, and Lesley Roy has delivered – at least in the visual department. Ireland is bringing something unique this year with their staging of the song Maps, and this is easily the most prop heavy performance thus far. We see Lesley placed as if she is in a storybook with cut outs around her, and a frame on the camera to place her in the pages. This is certainly a unique take on staging, and it certainly looks good.
Other parts of the song see Lesley placed between two books with their pages flipped to tell a story. It’s not an easy concept to describe, and there is a lot to take in and with only one streamed run through, it was difficult to process at times. Towards the end of the song, Lesley moves away from the props and we start to see longer shots of the stage and the props behind her. It felt a bit disjointed towards the end, as they really set the scene with the props and it didn’t have an epic conclusion.
Lesley was wearing an emerald green top and pants, and looked very chic on stage. The real downfall of this performance was the vocals. Lesley struggled significantly, and it’s a real worry for the semi-final. While this is a good song, and the staging is unique, is it enough to qualify? I really don’t know.
Follow our liveblog of today’s rehearsals here