The Royal Exchange in Manchester has unveiled a new season of work, with artistic director Selina Cartmell promising to channel the "pioneering spirit of Manchester" and be "brave and fearless" - a phrase that lands with a certain weight given the theatre's recent history.

Cartmell took over two years ago, during what was arguably the biggest crisis in the theatre's 50-year history. A production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was cancelled in a dispute over a song referencing transgender rights and containing the phrase "free Palestine". There were accusations of censorship, though an independent review did not find that - it did, however, highlight "significant leadership failures". The play's director, Stef O'Driscoll, spoke of growing "fear-driven decision-making in the arts".

Cartmell told the Guardian it had been "a very challenging time" for the theatre, and the board at the time took "full responsibility". All the review recommendations are now in place, she said, with "artists firmly back at the centre of the theatre". "It was an incredibly complex and difficult period of our time, but we are absolutely, as a theatre, moving forward into the next chapter."

The 2027-28 season includes a retelling of the Munich air disaster and a modern Stockport-set version of the ancient Greek myth Phaedra. Cartmell said she was interested in northern stories with an international reach, adding that risks would be taken - "all part of the pioneering spirit of Manchester".

The theatre will also reopen its 100-seat studio space next year, which has remained closed since the Covid pandemic. Cartmell called the closure a "real loss to Manchester" and said reopening it would allow the theatre "to nurture local talent and to tell really urgent stories". The first studio show since March 2020 will be Talking to Boys by Abbi Greenland, exploring "what happens to one woman's mind through 14 conversations with the men in her life". The reopening coincides with a weeks-long closure of the main 750-seat in-the-round space for refurbishment, including seats that have been in place for 30 years - presumably having absorbed three decades of audience fidgeting.

Season highlights in 2027 include the world premiere of The First Blue Thing by Olivier and Tony award-winning Simon Stephens. Directed by Cartmell, it reimagines the Greek myth of Phaedra - a princess who falls in love with her stepson, leading to terrible consequences - and will be set in Stephens's home town of Stockport. There will also be a new production of Guys and Dolls, and A Midsummer Night's Dream featuring soul singer and West End star Beverley Knight.

In 2028, 70 years after one of the defining moments in Manchester's history - the Munich air disaster - the theatre will stage the world premiere of an adaptation of David Peace's novel Munichs. The book brings to life the story and aftermath of the air crash that killed 23 out of 44 passengers, including eight Manchester United players, three of its staff and eight journalists. Adapted for the stage by Ben Power, it will, Cartmell said, explore the "religion of football" and how a club, a community and a country were all changed by events on 6 February 1958.

The Royal Exchange is one of the UK's leading regional theatres and has a proud history, Cartmell said, "of doing things differently, dancing to their own drum beat". "I think Manchester has that spirit as well, that punky, edgy feeling of going: right, we need to take risks. We need to act with courage. We need to be brave and fearless. And this is the moment … Manchester, as we know, is going through an extraordinary moment in time."