OBSERVER: Vale Christine (Andrew) Burrows
The passing of Christine (Andrew) Burrows on May 19 is a sad loss for her husband, Melbourne theatre director Alan Burrows, their family, and Melbourne’s theatre community.
Using her stage name of Christine Andrew, Christine started her amateur theatrical career in music theatre at the Williamstown Light Opera Company in 1972, where she played in Kismet, Calamity Jane, Half a Sixpence, Bye Bye Birdie and Sweet Charity.
Moving to CLOC in 1974, she starred in Can Can, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy and How to Succeed in Business … and was awarded Best Female Lead by The Music Theatre Guild of Victoria as Mame in CLOC Musical Theatre’s production of Mame in 1990.
Prior to this, she performed with Festival Theatre Company in SeeSaw and Little Me, winning the Best Actress in a Musical award twice in the Free Entertainment in the Parks Awards.
Other notable leads in musicals with other companies include Cabaret, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Calamity Jane, Bunch of Ratbags and West Side Story.
In the 1980s, Christine was at the height of her theatrical career. She performed professionally for Melbourne Music Theatre three times; the highlight being playing the role of Aldonza in Man of La Mancha opposite Norman Yemm.
Other roles were in Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore; the latter she performed twice, the second outing being presented on the Polly Woodside.
Christine sang professionally for a dance band at the Moorabbin Town Hall, worked in three theatre restaurants – Stage Door, Shani’s and Nero’s Fiddle – and secured an ongoing small part in the television series Prisoner for three years.
She appeared in Neighbours, several television commercials, and numerous shopping centre pantomimes.
Since that time, she continued to perform in musicals including 42 Street, Sweet Charity, The Rink, A Little Night Music, Nunsense, Hello Dolly, Something’s Afoot, Fiddler On The Roof, Nuncrackers, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, High Society and the delightful one women musical Moving On, written by Cen Fox.
A change of career in the early 1990s, saw Christine gain a Licentiate in Teaching Special Speech and Drama from Trinity College London, and she began teaching in private schools. This concentration on text led her down the path of performing in straight plays.
She then performed in leading roles in plays with Mordialloc, Brighton, Malvern, Williamstown, Eltham, Heidelberg, Peridot, Encore, Eltham, Mitcham, Stonnington and Lilydale Theatre Companies, winning many in-house awards.
One of Christine’s last plays was Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, which she performed at Williamstown, Peridot and finally Lilydale Theatre Companies. In 2017, she won the Lyrebird award for Best Actress in a Comedy.
All in all, Christine performed in more than 80 productions in addition to her professional work, while still managing to bring up two sons, continue with her teaching career and manage a household. A remarkable achievement.
Deepest sympathy to Alan and family, and Christine’s many friends.
Vale Christine.
Cheryl Threadgold
(with thanks to Alan Burrows)