The Ted Bundy Project

4
Reviewer's Rating

The Ted Bundy Project is a conceptual piece built around an effort to reconstruct scenes described by the serial killer Ted Bundy in his confession tapes. It was devised and is performed by Greg Wohead, who is also an associate director at The Yard

The basic conceit is to play on audience expectations in order to suggest an unwanted kinship with the famous serial killer. As we await gruesome details in connection with the murders, Greg Wohead reflects on his own creative process devising the piece: he shows us a reaction video to an especially horrific sounding snuff film that he has come across whilst researching for the project, and describes an event in his life which parallels the Bundy case by betraying a bitter and violent suppressed impulse. In the appetite for violence that is exhibited in the reaction video, in the subtle way our gory expectations are played upon and in the anecdotal evidence that is volunteered – the suggestion of the latent potential within each of us to act like Ted Bundy is conveyed.

It’s an intelligent piece; necessarily dissatisfying, but impactful. Greg Wohead’s performance is subtle and assured. The staging, minimal but effective. I’m a fan of the low-fi aesthetic and the conversational tone of the piece. I also like the fact that it’s daring enough to deliberately frustrate us.