What is "rudens"

Rudens is a play by Roman author Plautus, thought to have been written around 211 BC. Its name translates from Latin as 'The Rope'. It is a comedy, which describes how a girl, Palaestra, stolen from her parents by pirates, is reunited with her father, Daemones, ironically, by means of her pimp, Labrax. The story is, however, far more complex; in particular, humour is derived from the interactions between slaves and masters, and the changes in friendships throughout. The play is set in Cyrene, in northern Africa, although the characters come from a range of cities around the Mediterranean, most notably, Athens.